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THE   AUTOBIOGRAPHY   OF   A 
VETERAN 


Digiti 


Archive 
ndrm  from 
ation 


http://www.archive.org/details/autobiographyofvOOroccrich 


GENERAL   ENRICO   DELLA    ROCCA. 


THE    AUTOBIOGRAPHY 

OF  A 

VETERAN 

1807-1893 

BY      ^^ft>ro2-■z.o 

GENERAL  COUNT  ENRICO   DELLA  ROCCA 

A 


Translated  from  the  Italian  and  Edited  bv 
Janet  Ross 


NEW  YORK 

THE  MACMILLAN  COMPANY 

66  Fifth  Avenub 

1898 


7  4^  4  6' 3 


[All  Rights  reserved.'] 


INTRODUCTION 

At  the  request  of  my  wife  and  family   I   begin  to-day, 

Sunday,  the  15th  January  1893,  ^o  dictate  my  memoirs. 

I  shall  incorporate  with  them  historical  events  in  which 

I  had  a  part,  or  which  passed  under  my  eyes.     Until  my 

eightieth  year  I  read  without  glasses,  but  gradually  my 

sight  has  failed  and  I  am  almost  blind,  so  my  wife  will 

be  my  secretary.     I  shall  dictate  and   recount — she  will 

write.     We  shall  make  use  of  the  letters  I  regularly  wrote 

to  her  during  the  campaigns  of  1859,  i860  and  1866;  and 

also  of  some   hastily-written    notes,  jotted  down,  chiefly 

at  her  request,  between    1870- 1885,   of  impressions   and 

thoughts,   of  facts  witnessed   by   me,   and   details   about 

the  celebrated  men  who  were  my  contemporaries. 

The  work  will  not,  I  think,  be  easy ;  as  having  never 

thought  of  transmitting  to  posterity  any  account  of  my 

own  times,  and  still  less  of  my  own  life,  I  never  collected 

or  arranged   my   numerous    records    or    the    documents 

bearing  upon  them.     I  have  narrated  much  and  written 

a  few  things,  but  always  in  a  desultory  fashion ;  and  my 

secretary  will  have   enough   to  do  to  keep  me  in  order 

b 


vi  INTRODUCTION 

and  make  me  attend  strictly  to  chronology.  However, 
I  will  do  my  best  in  order  to  please  my  dear  ones. 

I  shall  try  to  recall  the  memories  of  a  past  which  I 
love  for  several  reasons — my  good  fortune  at  witnessing 
the  awakening  of  the  noble  idea  of  an  independent  and 
united  Italy — seeing  it  realised,  chiefly  by  the  exertions 
of  men  belonging  to  the  small  and  gallant  country  where 
I,  my  forebears  and  my  grandchildren  were  born — and  for 
the  active  part  I  took  in  nearly  all  the  important  events 
which  have  happened  between  1848  and   1870, 

But  I  particularly  wish  to  remind  those  who  one 
day  may  read  these  memoirs  that  they  were  written 
solely  in  deference  to  the  wishes  of  my  own  family,  and 
that  I  never  had  any  idea  of  making  a  historical  or  a 
literary  work,  or  of  imposing  my  judgments  or  appre- 
ciations, still  less,  of  weaving  panegyrics  or  destroying 
idols.  I  consider  that  some  of  my  contemporaries  were 
superior  to  the  reputation  they  enjoyed,  while  others 
were  praised  beyond  their  deserts.  I  have  always, 
without  adulation  for  the  first,  or  bad  feeling  towards 
the  latter,  expressed  my  opinion  frankly  and  in  all 
sincerity. 

October  1896. 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER     I 

I 807 -I 820 

PAGE 

Birth  —  Family  —  My  First  Memories:  1811,  '12,  '13,  '14,  '15  — 
Victor  Emanuel  I. — Marie  Theresa  of  Este — Prince  Charles 
Albert  of  Carignano — 1816  —  I  become  a  Page:  Entry  into 
the  Military  Academy — Marriage  of  the  Prince  of  Carignano — 
First  Revolutionary  Symptoms — Birth  of  Victor  Emanuel  II. — 
Pages  and  Their  Duties,    ......  i 

CHAPTER    II 

1821-1825 

Fire  during  a  Ball  at  Court — The  Prince  of  Carignano  and  the  Revolu- 
tion—Opinions concerning  the  Prince  in  the  time  of  Charles 
Felix — The  Revolution  of  the  12th  of  March — Abdication  of 
Victor  Emanuel  I. — His  Departure — Charles  Albert  as  Regent 
—The  Constitution — The  Pupils  go  to  Superga— My  Escape, 
with  other  Boys,  to  Fight  the  Austrians — Our  Capture — Sojourn 
at  Superga — Exile  of  Charles  Albert — Battle  of  Novara  and 
Return  of  Charles  Felix  to  Turin — Victor  Emanuel  I.  at  Mon- 
calieri — Charles  Albert  goes  to  Spain  to  Fight  the  Constitu- 
tionalists— He  returns  to  Turin — I  am  a  Sub- Lieutenant — Some 
of  my  Companions  at  the  Academy :  La  Marmora,  Cavour, 
Cavalli — I  enter  the  General  Staff,  .  .  .  .14 

CHAPTER     III 

1825-1840 

The  Staff— General  Paolucci — Death  of  King  Charles  Felix — Acces- 
sion of  Charles  Albert — His  Character — Life  at  Racconigi — 
Young  Italy — My  Journey  to  Sardinia — Bear  Hunting  with 
Duke  of  Savoy,     .......        26 

CHAPTER    IV 

1840-1841 

Rumours  of  War — My  Secret  Mission  to  France — Am  named  First 
Equerry  to  Duke  of  Savoy — His  Shooting  Parties — His  Dis- 
like of  La  Marmora — His  Marriage,         .  .  .  .34 


viii  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER    V 

1842-1847 

PAGE 

Maria  Adelaide — Private  Life  of  Victor  Emanuel — My  Relations  with 
Him — Maria  Elizabeth  visits  Her  Brother  Charles  Albert — His 
Melancholy  increases — His  Uncertain  Policy — Election  of  Pope 
Pius  IX. — Meeting  of  Agrarian  Society  at  Casale — Charles 
Albert  grants  Reforms — Birth  of  Maria  Pia  of  Savoy,       .  .         40 

CHAPTER    VI 

1848 

Genoese  Deputation — Cavour  as  Editor  of  the  Risorgimento — Duke  of 
Savoy  disguised  among  the  Mob — Baron  La  Tour — Charles 
Albert  grants  the  Constitution — Carnival  Time  in  Turin — Re- 
volution in  Paris  and  Vienna,  the  '  Five  Days '  of  Milan  and 
the  Rising  in  Venice — War  is  declared — I  am  named  Colonel 
and  Chief  of  the  Staff  to  Victor  Emanuel — The  King  takes 
Command  of  the  Army — The  Austrians  retire  towards  the  Adige 
— An  attempt  to  besiege  Peschiera — Pastrengo — The  Austrians 
retreat  on  Verona — Battle  of  Santa  Lucia — We  retreat,  .  .         49 

CHAPTER    VII 

1 848 — continued 

My  Plan  to  prevent  a  Junction  between  Radetzky  and  Nugent — Spys 
at  Villafranca — We  concentrate  at  Valeggio — The  Austrians 
attack  Us — Victor  Emanuel  is  Wounded — Fall  of  Peschiera — 
Radetzky  takes  Vicenza — We  blockade  Mantua— Battle  of  Custoza 
— We  retreat  on  Goito — King  refuses  Armistice — We  retreat  on 
Milan — Tumults  in  Milan — Capitulation — We  evacuate  Milan,   .         68 

CHAPTER     VIII 

END  OF   1848.      BEGINNING  OF    1849 

Vigevano — Armistice  signed  at  Milan — General  Bava's  Account  of  the 
Campaign — Is  dismissed  and  succeeded  by  General  Czamowsky 
— His  Plans — I  am  named  Major-General — Our  Retreat  on 
Novara — Hard  Fighting  at  Bicocca — We  are  driven  back  on 
Novara — Charles  Albert  abdicates — Victor  Emanuel  becomes 
King — I  rally  Fugitives — Am  called  to  Turin  by  Victor  Emanuel 
and  become  Minister  of  War,        .  .  .  .  .89 

CHAPTER    IX 

1849 — continued 

The  First  Ministry  of  King  Victor  Emanuel — Stormy  Scene  in  the 
Chambers — Revolt  in  Genoa — Disbanding  the  Lombard  Legion 
— General  Ramorino  condemned  and  shot — Victor  Emanuel  and 
Radetzky  meet — Negotiations  for  Peace — D'Azeglio  becomes 
Prime  Minister — Peace  is  ratified — Death  of  Charles  Albert — 
I  leave  the  Ministry  and  Marry,    .  .  .  .  .102 


CONTENTS  ix 

CHAPTER    X 

END  OF    1849-55 

PAGE 

Life  at  Moncalieri — Parliament  dissolved — New  Chambers  ratify  Treaty 
with  Austria — Marriage  of  Duke  of  Genoa  — Enmity  of  Foreign 
Powers — Sir  James  Hudson — Stormy  Debates  on  Ecclesiastical 
Matters — Cavour  becomes  Prime  Minister — Death  of  Duke  of 
Genoa,       .  .  .  .  .  .  .111 

CHAPTER    XI 

1855-1857 

Death  of  Queen  Maria  Theresa — Death  of  Queen  Maria  Adelaide  and 
Her  Child — Expedition  to  the  Crimea — Victor  Emanuel  visits 
Paris  and  London — Napoleon  advises  Him  to  Marry  again — I  am 
sent  to  Dusseldorf — Countess  Castiglione's  Jewels — Prescience  of 
Cavour — Mazzini  attempts  to  seize  the  Arsenal  at  Genoa — Sends 
Conspirators  to  Padula,     .  .  .  .  .  .118 

CHAPTER    XII 

1858.      BEGINNING  OF   1859 

Orsini  attempts  Life  of  Napoleon  III. — I  am  sent  as  Ambassador  Extra- 
ordinary to  Paris — Anger  of  the  Emperor — Victor  Emanuel's 
Letter — Princess  Mathilde  at  the  Tuilleries  Ball — Napoleon 
promises  His  Aid  against  Austria — The  Treaty  of  Plombi^res — 
Am  named  Head  of  the  General  Staff — Declaration  of  War — 
French  Troops  arrive  in  Piedmont — Incapacity  of  Giulay — 
Garibaldi  takes  Command  of  Volunteers — Victor  Emanuel  re- 
ceives Tuscan  Deputation,  .  .  .  .  .127 

CHAPTER    XIII 

1859  (SECOND   PART) 

Arrival  of  Napoleon — Montebello — Concentration  of  Allied  Armies — 
Garibaldi's  Victories — Palestro — Victor  Emanuel  and  the  Zouaves 
— Retreat  of  the  Austrians — Magenta — Victor  Emanuel  accepts 
Sovereignty  of  Lombardy — I  follow  Urban,  but  am  stopped  by 
Desvaux,  .  .  .  .  139 

CHAPTER    XIV 

1859  (THIRD   PART) 

Entry  into  Milan— 7«  Deum  in  Cathedral— We  enter  Brescia— De- 
putations from  Trent  and  Bologna — The  Empress  advises 
Napoleon  to  return  to  France — Solferino— S.  Martino— We 
invest  Peschiera— Austrians  send  Flag  of  Truce — Armistice — 
Violent  Scene  between  Victor  Emanuel  and  Cavour — Cavour 
resigns— Napoleon  and  Victor  Emanuel  enter  Milan— Cold 
Reception  at  Turin,  .  .  .  ,  ,  '153 


X  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER    XV 

END  OF  1859.     bb;ginning  of  i860 

Marshal  Vaillant — Napoleon  objects  to  the  Annexation  of  Tuscany — 
Cavour  returns  to  Power— Persuades  Napoleon  to  agree  to 
Annexation  of  Tuscany — I  am  named  Commander  of  the  5th 
Army  Corps — Annexation  of  Tuscany,  Emilia,  and  the  Romagna 
— Garibaldi  upbraids  Cavour,       ..... 


CHAPTER    XVI 

i860 

The  King  visits  New  Provinces — Sends  me  to  Compliment  the  ex- 
Duchess  of  Lucca  at  Viareggio — Embarkation  of  the  '  Thousand  ' 
for  Sicily — Our  March  into  Umbria — Cardinal  Antonelli  and 
Cavour — Siege  and  Capitulation  of  Perugia — Execution  of  Priest 
— Siege  of  Ancona — Arrival  of  Victor  Emanuel  at  Ancona,  .        176 


CHAPTER     XVII 

Plebiscite  at  Sulmona — Immorality  of  the  Neapolitans — Garibaldi  at 
Capua— His  Noble  Conduct — Siege  and  Capitulation  of  Capua 
— Garibaldi  Dictator  of  Naples — Victor  Emanuel  enters  Naples 
— Miracle  of  San  Gennaro — Mazzini  and  the  two  Dumas',  .        191 


CHAPTER    XVIII 

1861 

Victor  Emanuel  impatient  for  the  Fall  of  Gaeta — He  induces  Me  to 
accept  the  Military  Command  of  the  Two  Sicilies — Prince 
Eugene  of  Carignano  Viceroy  of  Kingdom  of  Naples — Brigandage 
— Bribery — Death  of  Cavour,        .....       203 


CHAPTER    XIX 

1861-1864 

I  go  to  Berlin  as  Ambassador  Extraordinary — Coronation  of  William 
I. — The  Earl  of  Clarendon  offers  His  Services — Napoleon 
demands  a  Guarantee,       ......       212 


CHAPTER    XX 

1864 

Riots  in  Turin — Police  fire  on  the  People — *  Rome  or  Death ' — I  invite 
Minghetti  to  resign — La  Marmora  Prime  Minister — Ricasoli 
appeals  to  the  Patriotism  of  the  Piedmontese  Deputies,    .  .219 


CONTENTS  xi 

CHAPTER    XXI 

1865 

rACE 

The  Mob  insults  the  King's  Guests — The  King  leaves  for  Florence — 

Closer  Alliance  with  Prussia,        .....       227 


CHAPTER    XXII 

1866  (first  part) 

False  Statements  of  the  Austrian  Cabinet — Mobilisation  of  our  Army 
— A  Newspaper  Correspondent — Declaration  of  War  Iw  Prussia 
and  Italy — We  cross  the  Mincio, .....       233 


CHAPTER    XXIII 

THE   DAY  OF  CUSTOZA 

Defective  Reconnaissance — Prince  Humbert  under  Fire — I  search  in 
vain  for  the  Commander-in-Chief^I  am  ordered  to  hold  Villa- 
franca — Our  Retreat  towards  Goito — La  Marmora  throws  up 
His  Command — Our  Fatal  Mistakes,       ....       242 


CHAPTER    XXIV 

1866  (third  part) 

Disastrous  Telegrams — Cialdini  takes  Command  of  150,000  Men — I 
Command  a  Reconnaissance  in  Force — It  is  Countermanded — 
General  Austrian  Retreat  after  Sadowa — Prussia  Signs  Pre- 
liminaries of  Peace  without  consulting  Italy — Prince  Jerome 
Napoleon — La  Marmora  compelled  to  ask  for  an  Armistice — 
We  are  threatened  by  France  and  Prussia — La  Marmora  sacri- 
fices His  Popularity,  ......       257 


CHAPTER    XXV 

1866-1867 

Cialdini  Chief  of  the  Staff  of  the  Army — Illness  of  Victor  Emanuel — 
La  Marmora  retires  to  Private  Life — Annexation  of  Venetia — 
Enthusiastic  Reception  of  Victor  Emanuel  in  Venice — Marriage 
of  Prince  Amadeus  of  Savoy — Death  of  Count  di  Castiglione,      .       270 


ii  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER    XXVI 

1867-1870 

PAGE 

Garibaldi  preaches  Rebellion,  is  Imprisoned,  then  sent  to  Caprera — 
Escapes  and  beats  the  Papal  Troops  at  Monte  Rotondo — 
Mentana — Marriage  of  Prince  Humbert  and  Princess  Margaret 
of  Savoy — Alarming  Illness  of  the  King — Birth  of  the  Prince  of 
Naples — Rome,  Capital  of  Italy,    .  .  .  ,  .       277 

TO  THE  READER, 284 

EPILOGUE— 1871-1893, 286 


Autobiography  of  a  Veteran 


CHAPTER    I 
I 807- I 820 

Birth  —  Family — My  First  Memories:  181 1,  '12,  '13,  '14,  '15 — Victor 
Emanuel  I. — Maria  Theresa  of  Este — Prince  Charles  Albert  of  Carignano 
— 1816 — I  become  a  Page  :  Entry  into  the  Military  Academy — Marriage 
of  the  Prince  of  Carignano — First  Revolutionary  Symptoms — Birth  of 
Victor  Emanuel  II. — Pages  and  Their  Duties. 

I  WAS  bom  in  Turin  on  the  20th  June  1807,  a  few  days 
after  the  battle  of  Friedland  which  Thiers  pronounces  to 
be  la  plus  belle  de  tous  les  sikcles,  and  on  the  eve  of  the 
day  when  those  arch-enemies  Napoleon  and  Alexander 
embraced  on  the  Niemen.  On  the  20th  June  was,  and 
still  is,  celebrated  at  Turin  the  feast  of  a  miraculous  image 
of  the  Virgin,  the  Madonna  of  Consolation,  and  my  mother, 
a  pious  and  excellent  woman,  consecrated  me  to  her,  fully 
persuaded  that  her  fourth  son's  happiness  was  thus  secured. 
I  can  hardly  affirm  that  her  hopes  were  entirely  realised, 
but  I  must  admit  that  my  life  has  relatively  been  a  happy 
one ;  perhaps  because  I  am  endowed  with  a  certain  amount 
of  philosophy  which  prevents  my  attributing  more  import- 
ance to  men  or  to  events  than  they  deserve. 

After  the  enforced  abdication  of  Charles  Emanuel  IV. 
in  1798,  Piedmont  passed  under  the  dominion  of  the 
French  Republic  with  a  fictitious  semblance  of  liberty  and 
independence ;  then,  thanks  to  the  Austro-Russian  inter- 

A 


2  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A    VETERAN 

vention,  or  more  correctly  speaking,  to  that  of  General 
Suvaroff,  she  returned  for  a  short  time  to  legitimate 
monarchy  under  a  regency  lacking  decorum  or  power. 
After  the  battle  of  Marengo  she  again  fell  under  the  French 
yoke.  Divided  in  1802  into  four  departments,  she  formed 
part  of  the  Republic,  and  afterwards  of  the  Empire,  until 
the  Restoration.  In  1807  Piedmont  was  ruled  by  a  general 
who  was  at  the  same  time  head  of  the  28th  military  division 
and  civil  governor.  In  the  following  year  he  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Camillo  Borghese,  husband  of  Pauline  Bona- 
parte, sister  of  the  Emperor,  who  lived  in  Turin  until  18 14, 
when  the  Empire  was  overthrown.  I  was  therefore  born  a 
French  subject  in  the  capital  of  the  department  of  the  Po. 

My  father,  Charles  Philip,  was  the  second  son  of  the 
Marquis  Caspar  Morozzo  of  Bianze,  and  of  Irene  Scar- 
ampi  of  Canino,  whose  eight  sisters,  with  the  exception  of 
one  who  became  the  Marchioness  of  Bevilacqua,  were  all 
married  in  Turin,  so  we  had  innumerable  cousins  among 
the  Piedmontese  nobility.  Marquis  Gaspar  and  his  wife 
had  five  sons :  Charles  Emanuel,  Marquis  of  Bianze ; 
Charles  Philip,  Marquis  Delia  Rocca,  my  father;  Louis, 
abb6  Morozzo;  Joseph,  chevalier  Morozzo,  finance  minis- 
ter, who  kept  that  title  till  he  died,  and  was  director  of  the 
hospitals  and  charitable  institutions  of  Turin ;  and  one 
daughter,  Christine,  who  married  the  Marquis  Taparelli 
d'Azeglio  and  was  the  mother  of  Massimo  d'Azeglio. 

The  Marquis  Gaspar  would  now  be  accounted  very 
eccentric,  but  in  those  days  he  represented  the  common 
type  of  the  eldest  born  of  noble  and  rich  families.  Brought 
up  to  regard  himself  as  superior  to  his  brothers  and  quite 
above  ordinary  mortals,  he  was  persuaded  that  by  divine 
and  [human  laws  he  was  sole  representative  of  his 
ancestors  and  sole  master  of  their  large  fortune,  which  by 
right  would  go  to  his  eldest  son.  No  other  member  of 
his  family  was  to  marry.     They  were  to  enter  the  army  or 


MV  FAMILY  3 

the  government  services,  take  holy  orders,  or  become  Knights 
of  Malta.  To  a  man  imbued  with  such  notions,  the  new 
ideas  introduced  by  the  French  Revolution  were  odious. 
Intensely  hostile  to  the  Republican  government,  which  he, 
with  many  others,  considered  to  be  simply  revolutionary 
and  not  likely  to  last,  he  was  subjected  to  all  kinds  of 
vexations  by  our  French  rulers  in  the  shape  of  taxes  and 
fines.  Once  they  seized  the  fifteen  horses  in  his  stable, 
saying  that  it  was  good  for  the  health  of  Citizen  Morozzo 
to  walk.  My  grandfather,  who  never  replied  unless  ad- 
dressed as  Marquis  of  Bianze,  immediately  gave  orders  to 
his  numerous  factors  to  collect  the  finest  mules  they  could 
find  on  his  estates,  and  drove  them,  splendidly  harnessed, 
four-in  hand  through  the  streets  of  Turin,  especially  under 
the  windows  of  the  governor's  palace.  It  can  easily  be 
imagined  how  angry  he  was  at  the  announcement,  in  spite 
of  his  opposition,  of  the  marriage  of  his  second  son,  Charles 
Philip,  in  1799.^  His  bride  was  Sophia  Asinari  of  the 
Marquises  of  Gresy,  charming  and  of  noble  birth,  but  poor. 
Marquis  Caspar  immediately  altered  his  will,  and  divided 
what  he  had  set  apart  for  Charles  between  the  abb6  and 
the  chevalier  Joseph.  All  he  gave  him  was  a  cottage  with 
a  dairy  farm  at  Valfenera  near  Asti,  which  brought  in 
about  £\(y0  2i  year,  and  a  small  apartment  in  the  palace  at 
Turin.  He  never  relented  towards  his  second  son  or  gave 
him  another  penny,  and  died  in  181 3  without  having  known 
his  grandchildren.     If  by  chance  we  met  our  grandfather  in 

^  Charles  Philip,  my  father,  was  aide-de-camp  to  General  Costa  di  Beau- 
regard in  1796,  and  went  with  him  to  Cherasco  on  the  28th  April,  when  the 
conditions  of  the  peace  of  Cherasco  were  settled.  They  were  dictated  by 
General  Bonaparte,  and  afterwards  copied  in  the  office  of  the  Sardinian  head 
of  the  staff.  The  young  aide-de-camp,  who  probably  had  to  make  several 
copies,  kept  one,  which  is  now  in  the  small  archive  where  I  have  collected 
the  documents  which  will  be  used  in  these  memoirs.  I  shall  henceforward 
call  thb  the  small  Delia  Rocca  archive  to  distinguish  it  from  the  large  and 
dusty  archives  of  the  Counts  Morozzo  and  the  Marquis  Delia  Rocca,  which 
contain  documents  dating  from  1300. 


4  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A    VETERAN 

the  street  we  were  made  to  bow  most  respectfully,  but  our 
salute  was  never  returned ;  the  Marquis  Gaspar  invariably 
turned  away  his  head  and  walked  straight  on.  Very 
different  from  the  good  King  Victor  Emanuel  I.,  who,  on 
his  return  to  the  capital  in  1814,  resumed  his  favourite 
walks  under  the  porticos  of  Via  di  Po,  accompanied  by 
his  first  equerry.  When  he  met  us,  and  recognised  the 
children  of  his  faithful  servant  the  Marquis  Delia  Rocca, 
he  always  returned  our  bows  and  often  called  us  to  him 
and  caressed  the  smaller  ones ;  bidding  us  tell  our  father 
that  he  had  stopped  us  in  order  to  send  him  an  affection- 
ate boundi  (good  day). 

As  I  have  already  said,  my  grandfather  Gaspar  died 
in  181 3  without  leaving  anything  to  my  father,  and  in 
the  same  year  my  seventh  and  last  brother  was  born.^ 
My  parents  brought  up  their  large  family  with  the  strictest 
economy,  giving  us  the  example  of  a  regular  life,  without 
luxuries  or  elegance,  but  contented  and  good-humoured. 
My  kind  and  gentle  father,  who  was  delicate,  left  every- 
thing to  his  wife,  in  whose  judgment  he  had  implicit 
confidence.  Healthy,  robust  and  resolute,  she  ruled  our 
small  army  with  perfect  success.  There  were  no  schools, 
or  at  all  events  we  never  went  to  any.  Our  father  taught 
us  reading,  writing  and  arithmetic,  and  an  excellent  priest, 
towards  whom  we  were  sometimes  wanting  in  respect, 
gave  us  Latin  lessons  and  made  us  recite  our  catechism. 
Both  of  my  parents  were  passionately  fond  of  music,  and 
in  spite  of  manifold  household  occupations  my  mother 
found  time  to  play  the  harp,  then  the  fashionable  instru- 
ment among  ladies  and  young  girls.  My  father  some- 
times accompanied  her  on  the  spinet,  but  oftener  played 
his  own  compositions,  when  our  elder  sister  Louisa,  born 
in  1800,  was  charged  to  stop  the  diabolical  noise  we  made 
in  the  small  apartment.  Woe  betide  him  who  broke  the 
^  In  18 1 9  my  sister  Caroline,  who  is  still  alive,  was  bom. 


VICTOR  EMMANUEL  L  5 

silence  ordered  by  my  mother,  or  who  left  the  place  where 
he  was  seated  with  his  back  to  the  wall.  Poor  Louisa 
was  our  victim,  and  her  shins  might  have  told  more 
eloquently  than  she  did  the  number  of  kicks  received 
when  trying  to  impose  silence  or  immobility  on  us.  If 
my  mother  noticed  any  movement,  or  heard  whimpering 
or  naughty  words  addressed  to  Louisa,  she  came  to  her 
aid,  and,  administering  one  or  two  good  boxes  on  the 
ears,  put  the  offender  into  the  corner  with  his  face  to  the 
wall.  Such  discipline  was  an  excellent  preparation  for 
the  college,  and  for  the  army  into  which  we  were  all 
to  enter.  None  of  us  ever  dreamed  of  complaining 
about  our  parents,  or  thinking  they  were  harsh,  nor  did 
we  ever  expect  the  fondling  which  I  see  is  the  foundation 
of  modern  education,  and  which  renders  young  men  in- 
tolerant of  every  privation. 

In  1 8 14  the  possessions  of  the  House  of  Savoy  were 
returned  to  them  by  virtue  of  the  Treaty  of  Vienna,  with 
the  addition  of  the  city  of  Genova  and  other  Ligurian 
towns,  Charles  Emanuel  IV.,  who  in  1799  protested  from 
Sardinia  against  the  abdication  forced  upon  him  by  the 
French,  had  voluntarily  resigned  his  crown  in  1804  after 
the  death  of  his  wife,  Maria  Clotilde,  sister  of  the  un- 
fortunate Louis  XVI.  of  France.  He  retired  to  private  life 
in  Rome,  and  ceded  all  his  rights  to  his  brother,  the  Duke 
of  Aosta,  afterwards  King  Victor  Emanuel  I.  I  perfectly 
remember  every  circumstance  connected  with  the  entry 
of  the  king  into  Turin,  as  far  as  a  child  of  seven  could 
see  it  He  was  to  pass  along  the  Via  di  Po,  so  we  went 
to  the  balcony  of  the  Countess  Ferrari's^  house  at  one 
corner  of  the  street.  Thence  we  saw  the  king,  mounted 
on  a  Sardinian   galloway,  dressed  in  his  old  uniform  of 

^  Sister  of  the  Countess  of  Castelborgo,  my  godmother  ;  both  descended 
from  the  Marchioness  of  San  Sebastiano  and  of  Spigno,  morganatic  wife  of 
Victor  Amadeus  II. 


6  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A    VETERAN 

1798/  blue  with  broad  red  facings  a  long  waistcoat, 
white  breeches  and  big  jack  boots,  a  Prussian  hat,  and  a 
wig  with  a  bobtail  which  hung  down  his  back.  The 
king  was  received  with  loud  and  enthusiastic  cheers ; 
the  people  crowded  round  him,  and  all  wanted  to  grip 
his  hands,  but  only  succeeded  in  kissing  his  boots.  This 
was  the  first  popular  demonstration  I  witnessed  ;  after- 
wards I  saw  many  in  the  suite  of  Charles  Albert  and 
Victor  Emanuel  II. 

Immediately  after  the  king's  return  he  restored  things 
to  the  condition  they  were  in  before  the  departure  of 
Charles  Emanuel  IV.  Sixteen  years  of  exile  spent 
among  the  bare  rocks  of  his  island — often  badly  informed 
about  the  course  of  events,  and  therefore  incapable  of 
understanding  their  importance — had  seemed  to  him  a 
dream,  a  cruel  and  oppressive  nightmare.  Awaking 
amidst  the  joyous  demonstrations  of  his  subjects,  he 
felt  impelled  to  destroy  every  trace  of  those  sad  years 
and  to  restore  the  old  condition  of  mutual  love  between 
people  and  king.  He  did  not  perceive  that  all  was 
changed,  that  individuals  and  ideas  had  progressed  and 
could  not  turn  back.  A  kind  and  excellent  man,  he 
was  wanting  in  discernment.  He  immediately  recalled, 
not  only  the  faithful  adherents  of  the  monarchy,  but, 
consulting  old  almanacs  of  the  years  preceding  the 
abdication,  he  reinstated  all  the  old  functionaries.  It 
was  absurd,  and  at  the  same  time  sad,  to  hear  of  dead 
men  being  gazetted  to  their  old  posts.  All  this  caused 
considerable  dissatisfaction,  particularly  in  the  army, 
where  officers  retrograded  in  rank,  and  lost  the  steps 
they  had  gained  under  the  French  government.  But 
others  have  written  about  this,  and  I  shall  return  to  my 

^  It  was  the  uniform  of  Victor  Amadeus  III.,  i.e.,  of  a  general  of  the 
Guards.  Charles  Emanuel  IV.,  who  was  no  soldier,  had  changed  nothing  in 
the  uniform  worn  under  his  predecessor. 


MARIA   THERESA  OF  ESTE  7 

reminiscences.  My  father  was  one  of  the  first  to  be 
reinstalled  in  his  rank  and  pay  as  captain  of  the  King's 
Dragoons,  but  owing  to  the  heart  disease  which  at  last 
killed  him  after  great  suffering,  he  was  forced  to  exchange 
into  the  bodyguard.  He  was  named  quarter-master, 
corresponding  to  the  rank  of  major,  so  our  poverty  was 
a  little  alleviated. 

The  return  of  the  queen  from  Sardinia,  and  of  the 
young  Prince  of  Carignano  from  France,  was  the  subject 
of  conversation  in  every  household  of  Turin.  Victor 
Emanuel  I.,  obedient  to  the  call  of  the  allied  powers  in 
1 8 14,  had  come  post-haste  from  Cagliari  to  Turin,  but 
would  not  allow  his  wife  to  join  him  until  peace  was 
assured  in  Europe.  After  the  battle  of  Waterloo  and 
Bonaparte's  exile  to  St  Helena  in  181 5,  the  queen,  impatient 
to  see  Piedmont  and  Turin,  where  she  had  reigned  supreme 
as  the  beautiful  Duchess  of  Aosta^  in  1789  and  the  follow- 
ing years,  left  Sardinia  to  join  her  husband.  Disembark- 
ing at  Genoa,  where  she  was  received  with  acclamation, 
she  entered  Turin,  accompanied  by  her  four  daughters : 
Beatrice,  already  married  to  her  uncle  Francis  IV.  of 
Modena ;  Maria  Theresa  and  Marianne,  twins  of  fifteen  ; 
and  little  Christine,  bom  in  1812.  Fifteen  young  girls  of 
the  first  families  of  Piedmont  awaited  her  arrival,  with 
nosegays  and  baskets  of  flowers,  on  the  new  bridge  of  the 
Po,  which  she  inaugurated. 

Maria  Theresa  was  still  beautiful,  and  the  sight  of  her, 
surrounded  by  those  four  youthful  faces,  touched  the 
hearts  of  the  enthusiastic  crowd.  Her  popularity  did  not, 
however,  last  long.  Murmurs  and  complaints  soon  began, 
accusing  her  of  pride  and  hardness,  of  incapacity  to  under- 
stand the  changes  which  had  taken  place  during  the  exile 
of   the   royal  family,   and   of  using    her   great   influence 

*  Maria  Theresa  d'Este,  who  married  Victor  Emanuel,  Duke  of  Aosta, 
afterwards  King  of  Sardinia,  was  sister  to  Francis  IV.,  Duke  of  Modena. 


9>^'      or  THB         ' 
I3NIVEB3ITY 

A"  CALIFOR^ 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A    VETERAN 


with   the  king  for   party   purposes  and   in  favour  of  re- 
pression. 

Victor  Emanuel  I.  had  also  summoned  to  Turin  the 
young  Prince  Charles  Albert^  of  Carignano,  heir-presump- 
tive to  the  throne  if  the  queen  or  the  Duchess  of  Genevese  ^ 
had  no  male  children.  He  was  seventeen,  a  sub-lieutenant 
in  the  French  army,  but,  on  arriving  at  Turin,  the  king 
made  him  quit  foreign  service  and  its  uniform.  Tall, 
lithe,  and  handsome,  gay,  and  full  of  fun,  he  became  the 
cynosure  of  all  eyes,  the  subject  of  much  talk,  and  the 
centre  of  many  ambitions,  when  the  favourable  impression 
he  had  made  upon  the  king  was  known.  At  the  head  of 
his  household,  as  governor,  was  placed  old  Count  Grimaldi, 
who  fulfilled  his  duties  too  conscientiously  to  please  the 

^  Charles  Albert,  Prince  of  Carignano,  was  a  direct  descendant,  but  of  the 
second  branch,  of  Charles  Emanuel  I.,  the  Great. 


Charles  Emanuel  I. 


Line  of  Savoy. 


Victor  Amadeus  I. , 
b-  1597—^.  1687. 

Charles  Emanuel  IT., 
b.  1634— t/.  1775. 

Victor  Amadeus  II., 

first  King, 

b.  1666 — d.  1732. 

Charles  Emanuel  III., 
b.  1701 — d.  1773. 

Victor  Amadeus  III., 
b.  1726—^.  1796. 


Line  of  Carignano. 


Cardinal  Maurice. 


Charles  Emanuel  IV.,     Victor  Emanuel  I.,       Charles  Felix., 
b.  1751—^.1819.  b.  1759 — d.  1824.      b.  1765 — d.  1831. 


Thomas, 

Prince  of  Carignano, 

b.  1595 — d.  1656. 

I 
Emanuel  Philibert. 
b.  1628 — d.  lyoi). 

Victor  Amadeus, 
b.  169C3 — d.  1741. 

I 

Ludovic  Victor, 

b.  1721— d.  1778. 

t 
Victor  Amadeus, 
b.  1743 — d.  1780. 

I 
Charles  Emanuel, 
b.  1770 — d.  1800. 

I 

Charles  Albert, 

b.  ijgS—d.  1849. 


^  Maria  Christine,  daughter  of  the  King  of  Naples,  and  wife  of  Charles 
Felix,  brother  of  Victor  Emanuel  I. 


PRINCE  CHARLES  ALBERT  OF  CARIGNANO    9 

young  prince.  He  liked  the  first  equerries  no  better;  if 
not  antediluvian,  they  at  all  events  dated  from  those 
famous  Court  almanachs  of  1798.  The  king,  whose  affec- 
tion for  Charles  Albert  increased  daily,  soon  named 
younger  and  more  acceptable  men  to  the  post.  All 
Turin  was  astonished  at  the  favour  shown  to  the  young 
prince,  and  it  was  rumoured  that  Victor  Emanuel  wished 
him  to  marry  one  of  the  twins,  but  that  the  Prince  of 
Carignano  was  alarmed  at  the  idea  of  Maria  Theresa  as 
a  mother-in-law.  Yet  she  was  not  a  bad  or  a  heartless 
woman.  No  one  knew  this  better  than  my  father,  who 
was  generously  and  kindly  tended  by  her  when  seized 
with  sudden  illness  in  the  royal  palace  at  Genoa.  But 
irritated  by  the  worries  of  a  long  exile,  and  saddened  by  the 
loss  of  her  only  son,  which  destroyed  all  hope  of  seeing 
her  descendants  on  the  throne,  she  had  become  soured, 
and  by  her  frank,  sometimes  even  rude,  speech  she  daily 
offended  those  around  her,  and  showed  too  plainly  her 
bitter  disappointment  at  finding  the  popularity  she  had 
enjoyed  as  Duchess  of  Aosta  no  longer  existed.  Although 
intelligent  and  superior  to  the  princes  of  the  House  of 
Savoy  of  that  generation,  she  could  not  seize  or  make 
allowance  for  the  great  changes  which  had  taken  place 
in  Piedmont  during  the  French  occupation.  The  royal 
family,  completely  isolated  in  Sardinia,  were  like  that 
princess  in  the  fairy  tale  who,  on  awaking  from  a 
hundred  years'  sleep,  was  astonished  to  find  things  were 
no  longer  the  same — those  sixteen  years  of  sleep  in  Sar- 
dinia counted  for  more  than  a  hundred  in  olden  days. 

In  1 8 16  two  young  equerries — Count  Gerbaix  de 
Sonnaz  and  the  chevalier  Silvano  Costa  di  Beauregard — 
were  added  to  the  Prince  of  Carignano's  household. 
And  as  the  king  had  twelve  pages,  and  his  brother,  the 
Duke  of  Genevese,  six,  five  were  chosen  for  the  service 
of  his  nephew,  of  whom  I  was  one.     My  four  companions, 


lo        AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A    VETERAN 

all  between  nine  and  twelve  years  of  age,  were  Victor  di 
Seyssel  d'Aix,  Faussone  di  Germagnano,  the  son  of  Count 
Filippi,  and  Coccognito  di  Montiglio,  Our  uniform,  not 
to  say  livery,  as  Camillo  di  Cavour,  who  became  page  a 
few  years  after  myself,  called  it,  was  of  scarlet  cloth  with 
silver  embroidery.  We  wore  white  silk  stockings  and  shoes 
with  buckles,  and  our  hat  was  boat  shaped.  Our  duties 
consisted  in  accompanying  the  princes  and  princesses  to 
all  Court  functions,  to  church,  to  the  theatre,  to  balls, 
following  them  upstairs,  walking  by  their  carriage,  holding 
up  their  trains,  and  waiting  on  them  in  public.  The  Prince 
of  Carignano  was  always  pleasant  and  kind  to  us ;  in  those 
days  he  was  full  of  life  and  gaiety,  fond  of  talking,  and 
could  be  sarcastic  ;  I  suspect  he  often  wished  to  join  us 
in  a  game  of  romps.  He  undertook  to  have  us  taught 
riding  in  his  riding  school,  and  often  lifted  the  smaller 
boys  into  their  saddles  or  made  the  bigger  ones  trot  and 
gallop  by  his  side. 

The  military  college  was  reopened  by  the  king  in  1816, 
and  I  was  one  of  the  first  scholars.  The  idea  was  to 
educate  a  corps  of  good  officers,  who  were  to  be  not  only 
instructed  in  the  art  of  war,  but  inured  from  childhood  to 
fatigue  and  privations.  Our  first  swallow-tailed  uniform 
was  of  blue  cloth  with  crimson  pipings.  We  wore  short 
breeches  and  cloth  gaiters  up  to  our  knees.  In  summer 
our  breeches  were  white,  and  cold  or  hot,  rain  or  sun, 
summer  began  for  us  on  the  feast  of  Corpus  Domini. 

In  1 8 17  Victor  Emanuel  determined  that  the  Prince 
of  Carignano,  heir-presumptive  to  the  throne,  ought  to 
marry.  His  choice  fell  on  the  Archduchess  Maria  Theresa, 
daughter  of  Ferdinand  III.,  Grand  Duke  of  Tuscany, 
whose  fair  hair,  youth,  magnificent  complexion,  and 
courteous,  dignified  manners  had  pleased  Charles  Albert. 
The  marriage  took  place  at  Florence  in  September  1817, 
and  early  in  October  the  young  couple  came  to  Turin.     I 


MARRIAGE  OF  PRINCE  OF  CARIGNANO      ii 

remember  going  with  the  other  pages  and  equerries  to 
meet  them  at  the  Valentino  Palace,  once  the  residence  of 
Christina  of  France  called  Madame  Royal.  This  pretty 
palace,  then  surrounded  by  shady  walks  and  groups  of 
old  trees,  was  the  first  halting-place  of  royal  visitors  out- 
side Turin.  Now  it  is  in  the  town.  The  prince  and  his 
bride  entered  a  state  carriage  with  large  glass  windows, 
drawn  by  four  horses;  three  footmen  stood  behind  and 
the  two  youngest  pages,  Filippi  and  I,  stood  on  either 
side  of  the  front  windows  on  small  steps  added  for  the 
occasion.  Whose  idea  this  was  I  do  not  know,  but  we 
boys  traversed  the  town  with  our  hearts  in  our  mouths. 
The  State  entry,  probably  arranged  more  in  honour  of 
the  bride  than  of  our  young  prince,  was  the  cause  of 
great  future  annoyance  to  him.  Charles  Felix,  Duke 
of  Genevese,  who  had  just  returned  from  Sardinia 
where  he  had  been  acting  as  regent,  was  jealous  of  the 
position  given  to  Charles  Albert.  He  regarded  it  as  a 
personal  affront,  and  so  pestered  the  king  and  queen,  and 
the  master  of  the  ceremonies  Marquis  Pamparato,  that  he 
obtained  a  rectification  in  the  archives  of  court  ceremonials 
kept  by  the  grand  master.  He  was  ordered  to  register 
that  the  honours  rendered  to  the  Princes  of  Carignano 
were  addressed,  not  to  Charles  Albert,  who  was  only  a 
Serene  Highness,  but  to  his  bride,  who  as  an  Imperial 
and  Royal  Highness  and  Archduchess  of  Austria  had  a 
right  to  them.  The  obvious  thing  would  have  been  to 
create  Charles  Albert  a  Royal  Highness,  but  Charles 
Felix,  and,  they  say  also,  the  queen,  who  both  still  hoped 
for  an  heir  in  the  direct  line,  were  so  hostile  that  King 
Victor  abandoned  the  idea.  From  that  day  began  the 
underhand,  but  unceasing  and  active  malevolence  of  the 
Duke  of  Genevese  towards  the  Prince  of  Carignano. 
Some  years  later,  when  Charles  Felix  Was  king,  and  he 
was  advised  to  grant  the  title  of  Royal  Highness  to  Charles 


12        AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A    VETERAN 

Albert,  he  replied,  '  I  cannot ;  one  is  born  a  Royal  High- 
ness, one  cannot  be  made  one.' 

In  1820  the  breath  of  revolution  from  Spain  and 
Naples  reached  Piedmont,  and  the  new  ideas  of  constitu- 
tional government  were  first  broached.  Carbonari  arrived 
in  small  bands,  and  members  of  the  first  Piedmontese 
families,  the  Dal  Pozzo  della  Cisterna,  the  Perrone  di  San 
Martino,  Collegno,  Moffa  di  Lisio,  Santa  Rosa,  Verasis  di 
Castiglione,  etc.,  were  affiliated.  They  were  joined  by 
the  ofificers  who  had  fought  under  Napoleon,  and  under 
the  restoration  had  been  deprived  of  a  step  in  rank. 
People  talked  openly  about  the  Carbonari  and  the  mal- 
contents. The  young  men,  always  greedy  for  any  novelty, 
were  divided  into  two  camps — the  French  Constitutionalists 
and  the  Spanish.  The  more  fashionable  and  frivolous,  led 
by  the  Marquis  di  Priero,  were  for  the  former.  Gay  and 
noisy,  they  dressed  with  the  greatest  care,  according  to 
French  fashions.  Sombre,  nay  even  dramatic,  wrapped  in 
large  cloaks,  and  wearing  broad-brimmed  white  hats,  the 
Spanish  Constitutionalists  stalked  through  the  streets  of 
Turin  without  attracting  the  attention  of  the  king.  Per- 
haps as  it  was  Carnival  time,  he  thought,  or  pretended  to 
think,  it  was  a  Carnival  joke. 

On  the  14th  March  the  Princess  of  Carignano  gave  birth 
to  a  son,  who  was  to  be  the  future  King  Victor  Emanuel 
1 1.  Born  during  the  first  revolutionary  movements  for  the 
unity  and  independence  of  Italy,  clairvoyants  might  well 
have  hailed  him  the  Hope  of  Italy. 

We  pages  were  among  the  first  to  see  the  new-born 
baby,  as  we  held  torches  round  the  font  while  he  was  being 
baptized.  Some  time  afterwards,  finding  the  door  of  the 
nursery  half  open,  I  entered,  and  absorbed  at  the  sight  of 
the  baby  in  his  cradle,  was  standing  by  him,  when  the 
Princess  of  Carignano  came  in.  She  scolded  me  well  and 
forbade  me  ever  to  come  near  those  rooms  again  without 


PAGES  AND  THEIR  DUTIES  13 

special  permission.  Twenty  years  later,  when  I  was  first 
equerry  to  Duke  Victor  Emanuel,  I  told  him  how  I  had 
been  turned  out  of  his  room.  He  laughed  heartily,  but 
deplored  his  mother's  love  for  strict  Court  etiquette, 
which  bored  him,  and  which  he  abolished  on  coming  to 
the  throne. 

In  the  same  year,  1820,  I  began  my  studies  in  the 
Academy  for  entering  the  general  staff.  The  course  of 
instruction  lasted  five  years,  and  I  must  confess  that  the 
lessons  of  French  and  Italian  literature  left  much  to  be 
desired.  They  were  not  calculated  to  teach  even  those 
who  were  extraordinarily  gifted,  like  Camillo  di  Cavour, 
to  write  really  well.  Cavour  often  lamented  how  difficult 
he  found  it  to  express  his  thoughts  in  elegant  Italian.^ 
Mathematics  and  military  tactics  were,  however,  admirably 
taught,  and  those  who  failed  in  after  years  to  distinguish 
themselves  had  only  their  own  laziness  or  incapacity  to 
thank. 

'  '  Dans  ma  jeunesse  on  ne  m'  a  jamais  appris  k  ^crire  ;  je  n'ai  pas  eu  de 
professeurs  de  rh^torique  ni  meme  d'humanit^  ;  aussi  ce  n'est  qu'avec  la  plus 
grande  apprehension  que  je  me  decid^rais  b.  livrer  un  manuscrit  k  Timprim- 
erie.  .  .  .'    (Cavour.     Lettere,  Vol.  I.,  p.  330,  Collezione  Luigi  Chiala.) 


CHAPTER    II 
1821-1825 

Fire  during  a  Ball  at  Court — The  Prince  of  Carignano  and  the  Revolution — 
Opinions  concerning  the  Prince  in  the  time  of  Charles  Felix — The  Revo- 
lution of  the  1 2th  of  March — Abdication  of  Victor  Emanuel  I. — His 
Departure — Charles  Albert  as  Regent — The  Constitution — The  Pupils  go 
to  Superga — My  Escape,  with  other  Boys,  to  Fight  the  Austrians — Our 
Capture — Sojourn  at  Superga — Exile  of  Charles  Albert — Battle  of  Novara 
and  Return  of  Charles  Felix  to  Turin — Victor  Emanuel  I.  at  Moncalieri — 
Charles  Albert  goes  to  Spain  to  fight  the  Constitutionalists — He  returns 
to  Turin  —  I  am  a  Sub- Lieutenant  —  Some  of  my  Companions  at  the 
Academy :  La  Marmora,  Cavour,  Cavalli — I  enter  the  General  Staff. 

The  political  horizon  in  the  beginning  of  1821  was 
gloomy;  even  we  boys  were  conscious  of  the  growing 
agitation  in  Turin  without  understanding  what  it  meant. 
During  a  Court  ball  at  the  end  of  Carnival  a  fire  broke 
out  in  the  Palace  Ciablese,  now  belonging  to  the  Duke  of 
Genova,^  which  forms  one  wing  of  the  royal  palace.  We 
afterwards  heard  that  there  had  been  riots,  not  only  in 
the  capital  but  also  in  the  provinces,  for  some  days,  and 
that  the  fire  was  supposed  to  be  the  work  of  the  Carbonari 
and  the  Revolutionists,  who  hoped  in  the  confusion  to  be 
able  to  approach  the  royal  family  and  to  demand  reforms 
and  the  Constitution.  What  I  saw  (as  all  the  pages  were 
on  duty)  was  that  the  Prince  of  Carignano  left  the  ball,  and 
returned  in  about  an  hour  with  his  Court  suit  all  blackened 
with  smoke,  and  high  boots  over   his  silk  stockings,  to 

^  The  Duke  of  Ciablese,  uncle  of  Victor  Emanue  I. ,  left  his  palace  to 
Charles  Felix,  Duke  of  Genevese,  brother  of  Victor  Emanuel  I.,  who  suc- 
ceeded him  as  King  of  Sardinia. 

14 


REVOLUTION  15 

report  to  the  king.  A  second  time  he  left,  and  then  came 
back  to  announce  that  all  was  safe  and  the  fire  extin- 
guished. I  and  all  my  companions  noticed  that  Victor 
Emanuel  listened  attentively  and  talked  graciously  to  the 
young  prince,  while  the  queen  frowned  and  glanced  sneer- 
ingly  at  his  boots  and  dirty  coat.  The  Duke  of  Genevese, 
who  was  in  the  royal  circle,  did  worse,  for  as  Charles 
Albert  approached  he  deliberately  turned  his  back  on 
him  and  walked  away.  He  was  suspected,  unknown  to 
himself,  of  being  on  good  terms  with  the  Carbonari, 
and  Charles  Felix  was  on  the  point  of  accusing  him  of 
incendiarism. 

I  forgot  to  say  that  the  year  before,  on  the  birth  of 
Prince  Victor,  the  king  had  named  the  Prince  of  Carig- 
nano  Commander-in-Chief  of  the  artillery.  This  important 
post  threw  considerable  power  into  his  hands,  and  the 
constitutional  Monarchists,  then  considered  revolutionists, 
among  whom  were  many  Carbonari,  centered  their  hopes 
in  him.  They  expected  that  the  young  and  liberal 
prince  would  put  himself  at  the  head  of  a  party  whose 
ambition  was,  with  an  enlarged  and  strengthened  Pied- 
mont, to  form  a  kingdom  of  Italy,  ruled  by  a  constitutional 
king  of  the  House  of  Savoy. 

From  18 1 8  to  1821  were  perilous  times  for  Charles 
Albert.  The  various  parties  who  looked  upon  the  restora- 
tion, or  rather  the  resurrection  of  a  dead  past,  as  a  farce, 
were  searching  for  a  personality — a  name — in  whose 
honour  to  unfurl  the  constitutional  flag,  and  thought  they 
had  found  him  in  the  Prince  of  Carignano.  So  convinced 
were  they  that  to  him  the  idea  of  a  constitutional  Italy, 
united  under  his  sway,  would  prove  irresistible,  that  they 
made  sure  that  he  shared  their  notions.  It  appears,  how- 
ever, that  the  prince  had  never  been  approached  on  the  sub- 
ject. In  the  first  days  of  March  1821  all  eyes  were  turned 
on  him,  but  whatever  may  have  been  said  or  written  during 


i6        AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A    VETERAN 

those  fateful  days  and  even  afterwards,  it  is  certain  that 
Charles  Albert  was  affiliated  to  no  secret  society,  and 
that  in  the  beginning  of  1821  he  was  ignorant  of  the  plot 
hatched  by  the  Carbonari^  the  nobility,  and  the  Pied- 
montese  officers.  He  declared  it  by  word  of  mouth  and 
in  writing  at  various  times,  and  the  few  around  him  who 
were  not  sectarians  always  said  so,  and  have  left  it  on 
record  in  letters  which  still  exist. 

I  was  then  too  young  to  understand  what  was  going 
on,  but  some  years  later,  when  I  got  my  epaulettes  and 
left  the  Academy,  it  was  still  the  subject  of  conversation. 
Charles  Felix  was  then  king  and  omnipotent,  so  most  of 
the  nobility  naturally  adopted  the  ideas  of  the  Court,  who 
looked  upon  the  Prince  of  Carignano  as  a  traitor  to  the 
Royal  House.  At  the  same  time,  he  was  decried  as  a 
traitor  by  some  of  the  Liberal  party.  It  was  believed,  or 
at  least  generally  said,  that  he  belonged  to  the  Carbonari 
and  had  plotted  with  them  in  favour  of  a  constitutional 
revolution  ;  but  becoming  alarmed  lest  instead  of  helping 
him  to  a  larger  kingdom  his  companions  might  prevent 
his  ever  ascending  the  throne  of  his  uncles,  he  had  forsaken 
and  betrayed  them.  In  short,  the  poor  prince  was  accused 
and  abused  by  everyone,  and  even  after  he  became  king 
many  still  believed  in  his  guilt.  Only  when  the  archives 
and  documents  of  that  time,  as  well  as  his  own  letters 
and  those  of  his  contemporaries  were  published,  was  light 
thrown  on  the  events  which  I  shall  try  to  explain. 

It  was  in  the  beginning  of  March  that  the  prince  first 
had  cognisance  of  the  revolutionary  movement,  and  was 
surprised  to  discover  that  nearly  all  his  artillery  officers 
were  in  the  conspiracy.  To  his  astonishment,  one  morning 
Count  di  Collegno  one  of  his  equerries,  introduced  Counts 
Santa  Rosa  and  Lisio  and  the  Marquis  di  Caraglio  into 
his  study.  They  were,  together  with  Collegno,  the  leaders 
of  the  movement,  and  came  in  the  name  of  the  Constitu- 


REVOLUTION  17 

tional  party  to  beg  the  prince  to  place  himself  at  their 
head,  and  plead  their  cause  with  the  King  Victor  Emanuel. 
Horror-stricken,  Charles  Albert  remained  dumb.  It  had 
never  crossed  his  mind  that  the  liberal  sentiments  he  so 
frankly  avowed  to  those  about  him  could  have  led  to  his 
being  chosen  as  the  leader  of  a  revolutionary  political 
party.  On  recovering  from  his  surprise  he  rejected  their 
propositions,  but  probably  not  with  the  energy  he  ought 
to  have  shown,  and  dismissed  the  conspirators.  They  only 
wanted  a  figurehead,  not  a  leader,  and  knew  that  the  young 
prince  lacked  the  decided  character,  the  intuition,  and  the 
vast  ambition  of  a  Bonaparte.  They  hoped  to  compromise 
him — to  seduce  him  with  the  idea  of  an  enlarged  and  in- 
dependent kingdom  of  which  he  was  to  be  the  founder. 
Taken  unawares,  and  naturally  irresolute  and  undecided, 
Charles  Albert  found  himself  in  cruel  perplexity — he  must 
either  be  a  traitor  to  the  king  who  had  been  kind  to  him 
and  laden  him  with  benefits,  or  betray  men  who  were 
his  friends  and  had  confided  their  secret  to  him.  He 
chose  the  worst  thing — a  middle  course.  He  tried  to  per- 
suade the  officers  that  their  duty  lay  in  fidelity  towards 
their  sovereign,  and  that  their  demonstrations  were  in- 
opportune and  dangerous,  while  he  warned  the  king  to  be 
on  his  guard,  and  to  take  precautions  against  possible 
disorders.  Whether,  fearing  to  compromise  some  of  his 
friends,  he  spoke  too  vaguely,  I  know  not ;  anyhow,  the 
king  failed  to  grasp  the  situation  and  did  nothing,  while 
the  revolution  gained  ground. 

The  Prince  of  Carignano  spoke  more  openly  to  Saluzzo, 
the  Minister  of  War,  who  was  dismayed,  but  took  no 
measures  to  forestall  the  revolution  which  broke  out  in 
Turin  on  the  8th  of  March.  A  cannon  shot  from  the 
citadel  was  the  signal  which  roused  the  whole  population. 
The  king,  who  had  gone  to  Moncalieri  the  day  before, 
immediately  returned,  and  on  the  loth  he  was  presented 

B 


1 8        AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A    VETERAN 

with  a  pronunciamento,  Spanish  fashion,  by  the  garrison  of 
Alessandria,  followed  by  those  of  Vercelli,  Pinerolo,  etc. 

At  first  Victor  Emanuel  declared  that  he  would  not 
cede  to  violence,  but  when  he  understood  that  the  revolu- 
tion was  spreading  and  civil  war  would  be  the  result,  he 
hesitated.  A  council  was  summoned,  consisting  of  the 
ministers,  their  predecessors,  several  leading  men  such  as 
Balbo,  Vallesa,  the  Marquis  Brignole,  and  the  generals  in 
command.  Several  of  the  latter  declared  that  they  would 
not  answer  for  their  men.  A  few  of  the  councillors  were  in 
favour  of  granting  concessions  and  reform,  but  the  majority 
advised  resistance.  All  those  of  the  Liberal  party  who 
could  obtain  access  to  the  Prince  of  Carignano  were  urging 
him  to  use  his  influence  with  the  king  and  persuade  him 
to  grant  a  constitution.  Among  them  were  Vallesa, 
Saluzzo  and  Balbo.  The  prince  declined  to  interfere  unless 
called  before  the  council  and  assured  of  the  active  support 
of  the  two  last-named  gentlemen.  Summoned  by  the  king, 
who  asked  his  opinion,  Charles  Albert,  strongly  backed 
by  Balbo  and  Vallesa,  advised  granting  concessions,  to 
which  Saluzzo  and  Brignole  assented,  but  all  the  others 
voted  against  them. 

Meanwhile  the  revolution  was  spreading.  Many  of  the 
troops  quartered  in  and  near  the  capital  deserted  and 
joined  the  garrison  of  Alessandria.  The  king,  gradually 
becoming  convinced  of  the  aspirations  of  the  majority  of 
his  subjects,  was  on  the  point  of  granting  a  constitution, 
when  the  Marquis  of  San  Marzano  ^  arrived  from  the  Con- 
gress of  Laibach,^  to  which  he  had  been  sent  as  minister 
plenipotentiary  the  year  before.  He  declared  that,  in 
obedience  to  his  instructions,  he  had  assured  the  repre- 

^  Father  of  the  Marquis  of  Caraglio,  one  of  the  heads  of  the  Revolutionary 
party. 

^  Called  at  the  instigation  of  Austria  to  arrange  with  the  other  great  powers 
the  right  of  intervention  in  countries  which  had  risen  in  rebellion. 


ABDICATION  OF  VICTOR  EMANUEL  L     19 

sentatives  of  the  other  powers  that  the  King  of  Sardinia 
would  never  grant  a  constitution  or  make  any  change  in 
the  treaties  and  conventions  of  181 5,  On  hearing  this, 
Victor  Emanuel  I.  resolved  to  abdicate,  and  as  his  brother, 
Charles  Felix,  was  at  Modena  to  receive  the  King  of 
Naples  on  his  return  from  Laibach,  he  named  the  Prince 
of  Carignano  regent.  Charles  Albert  at  first  refused,  but 
on  the  representations  of  the  ministers  and  servants  of  the 
crown  present  at  the  ceremony  of  abdication,  he  reluctantly 
accepted.  The  prince  was  deeply  moved  by  the  farewell 
words  addressed  by  the  king  to  him  and  to  his  faithful 
servants,  and  hardly  less  at  Maria  Theresa's  cutting,  but 
hardly  undeserved,  remarks  to  the  ministers  of  war  and 
public  security,^  who  had  allowed  things  to  come  to  such 
a  pass.  Among  those  present  at  the  leave-taking  was  my 
father,  and  he  often  told  us  that,  on  leaving,  the  king  ex- 
claimed, '  J'emporte  avec  moi  le  regret  d'avoir  inutilement 
travaille  au  bonheur  de  mon  peuple.' 

Victor  Emanuel  I.  left  for  Nice  during  the  night  of  the 
1 2th  March,  escorted  by  the  whole  light  cavalry  regiment 
Savoia,  mounted  on  excellent  little  Sardinian  horses.  In 
spite  of  the  entreaties  of  the  king  they  accompanied  him 
to  Racconigi,  where  they  took  leave,  and  went  to  join  the 
royal  army  under  General  La  Tour  at  Novara. 

Many  people  thought  that  in  naming  Charles  Albert 
regent,  the  king  meant  to  give  a  tacit  assent  to  the  pro- 
mulgation of  the  Constitution,  It  was  like  saying.  You 
are  free,  I  am  not ;  do  what  you  think  best  for  the  people 
and  the  monarchy.  Unfortunately  the  young  prince  was 
inexpert,  hampered  by  countless  ties  and  duties,  and  had 
no  man  of  strong  character  and  intellect  near  him.  He 
was  overwhelmed  by  the  revolution  and  became  its  martyr. 

On  the  departure  of  the  king  all  the  ministers  resigned, 

^  The  queen's  last  words  to  Count  Lodi  were,  *  Nous  vous  avons  pay^  bien 
cher,  monsieur,  pour  une  police  que  vous  faisiez  bien  mal.' — Translator's  Note. 


20        AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A    VETERAN 

and  their  places  were  difficult  to  fill.  The  regent  met  either 
with  a  decided  refusal  or  an  acceptance  negatived  by  im- 
possible conditions.  Meanwhile  the  revolutionary  wave 
surged  higher  and  higher.  For  want  of  sentinels  who  had 
abandoned  their  posts,  or  through  the  treachery  of  servants, 
the  Carignano  Palace  was  invaded  by  a  mob,  which  declined 
to  leave,  and  the  prince  was  interrogated  and  advised  by 
men  unknown  to  him.  When  summoned  to  his  assistance 
the  Monarchists  either  turned  a  deaf  ear  or  advised  the 
proper  course — the  only  one  which  Charles  Albert  could 
not  bring  himself  to  adopt — an  immediate  order  to  the 
troops  who  were  still  faithful  to  clear  the  streets.  The 
soldiers  in  the  citadel  had  exchanged  their  blue  ^  cockades 
for  tricolour  ones,  and  some  of  the  commanding  officers 
threatened  to  fire  on  the  town  unless  the  Constitution  was 
proclaimed.  Under  these  circumstances,  a  prince  of  only 
twenty-three,  with  Liberal  tendencies,  and  surrounded  by 
Revolutionists,  can  hardly  be  blamed  for  conditionally 
signing  the  Constitution,  pending  ratification  by  the  new 
sovereign.  Couriers  were  immediately  sent  off  to  Modena 
with  detailed  accounts  of  the  situation,  and  a  request  for 
explicit  orders. 

The  answer  was  an  order  to  go  immediately  to 
Novara  and  join  Field- Marshal  Baron  La  Tour,  command- 
ing that  part  of  the  army  which  was  still  faithful  to  the 
king.  Charles  Albert  left  Turin  at  nightfall,  running 
the  danger  of  being  murdered  by  Revolutionary  assassins, 
who  called  him  cowardly,  vile  and  treacherous.  When  he 
reached  Novara,  the  field-marshal  handed  him  a  letter 
from  the  king,  ordering  him  to  go  to  Florence  with  his 
family.  The  prince  went  to  Modena  to  see  King  Charles 
Felix,  who  refused  to  receive  him,  and,  heart-broken, 
Charles  Albert  went  into  exile. 

During  the  riots  in  Piazza  Castello  on  the  I2th  March, 
^  The  colour  of  the  House  of  Savoy. — Translator's  Note. 


WE  BOYS  RUN  AWAY  TO  FIGHT  21 

we  boys  were  assembled  in  the  chapel  of  the  Academy  at 
a  funeral  service  in  memory  of  our  late  governor,  General 
Robilant.  We  understood  that  something  was  going  on, 
but  against  whom,  or  for  whom,  there  was  fighting,  we  only 
learnt  by  degrees.  A  portion  of  the  garrison  of  Turin  and 
the  suburbs  had  joined  the  Constitutionalists  at  Aless- 
andria, so  our  governor,  Chevalier  Cesare  di  Saluzzo, 
mindful  of  what  had  happened  in  a  Spanish  town  on  the 
rebellion  of  the  garrison,^  marched  us  all  off  to  the  large 
buildings  adjoining  the  church  on  the  Superga  Hill. 

Shouldering  their  guns,  the  older  pupils  were  placed  as 
sentinels  at  every  door,  while  the  youngest  amused  them- 
selves in  the  big  room.  The  others,  I  among  them,  con- 
spired— we  wanted  to  join  the  army  !  One  of  our  servants 
had  just  left  to  join  his  regiment  at  Alessandria,  saying  he 
was  going  to  fight  the  Austrians.  Fight  the  Austrians  ! 
Those  three  words  fired  our  heads  and  legs,  and  we  deter- 
mined to  run  away  into  the  woods,  taking  with  us  our 
silver  spoons,  forks  and  mugs  to  sell,  and  thus  pay  for  our 
journey.  No  sooner  said  than  done.  Silently  we  slid  down 
a  steep  slope  through  the  wood  towards  the  river.  But 
our  flight  had  been  discovered  and  our  older  companions 
were  sent  in  pursuit.  They  ran  faster  than  we  did  and 
soon  caught  us,  and  with  kicks  and  cufTs  brought  us  back 
humiliated.  On  the  8th  April  the  Constitutionalists  were 
beaten  at  Novara  by  Marshal  La  Tour,  aided  by  the 
Austrians,  and  their  leaders  fled  to  Switzerland  and  other 
countries,  while  the  soldiers  dispersed  to  their  homes.  The 
Austrians  occupied  Alessandria  and  Vercelli,  and  the  gover- 
nor of  Turin,  Count  Thaon  di  Revel,  named  regent  by  the 
new  king,  Charles  Felix,  soon  reduced  the  town  to  order. 

Charles  Felix  prudently  remained  at  Modena  until 
October.     Charles  Albert,  in  disgrace,  was  exiled  to  Flor- 

^  The  rebels  seized  all  the  pupils  in  a  college  for  youths  of  good  family,  and 
held  them  as  hostages. 


22        AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A    VETERAN 

ence,  and  Victor  Emanuel  I.  was  staying  at  Nice.  On 
receiving  news  of  the  battle  of  Novara,  Count  Hannibal 
Saluzzo,  commander  of  the  garrison  of  Nice,  went  to 
inform  his  old  king,  who  immediately  exclaimed,  *  Alas ! 
My  brave  Piedmontese,  they  gave  it  to  those  cursed 
Austrians,  did  not  they  ? '  His  grief  was  terrible  on  hear- 
ing that  they  had,  on  the  contrary,  been  beaten.  The  good 
king  hated  Austria  bitterly,  to  whom  he  attributed,  far  more 
than  to  France,the  misfortunes  of  his  country.  Saluzzo  seized 
the  opportunity  to  urge  Victor  Emanuel  to  return  to  Turin, 
escorted  by  his  regiment,  assuring  him  that  the  whole  army 
would  at  once  rally  round  him.     But  the  king  refused. 

Towards  the  end  of  1821  Charles  Felix  returned  to 
Turin,  where  everything  was  quiet  owing  to  the  vicinity  of 
the  Austrians.  Called  into  Piedmont  by  Marshal  La  Tour 
in  obedience  to  the  king's  orders,  the  latter  found  it  no 
easy  matter  to  get  rid  of  them.  '  Diplomacy  moves  so 
slowly.  The  Austrians  are  like  pitch,  which  sticks  if  you 
touch  it,'  said  the  king.  At  least  so  it  was  reported.  Two- 
thirds  of  the  Austrian  troops  were  withdrawn  a  year  later, 
after  the  Congress  of  Vienna,  but  the  last  four  or  five 
thousand  men  only  left  Piedmont  at  the  end  of  1823. 

Charles  Felix  was  one  of  the  few  of  his  race  who  had 
no  military  tastes ;  but  after  ascending  the  throne  he 
always  wore  a  general's  uniform.  Intensely  autocratic,  he 
firmly  believed  in  the  divine  right  of  kings,  and  exacted 
the  greatest  deference,  not  only  to  the  crown,  but  to  all 
belonging  to  it.  He  once  placed  a  staff  officer  who  repri- 
manded a  servant  of  the  palace  under  arrest  for  disrespect  to 
the  royal  livery.  Otherwise  he  was  simple,  almost  infantine, 
in  his  tastes  and  habits.  The  theatre  was  his  favourite 
amusement,  and  he  went  there  nearly  every  night. 

Very  different  was  Victor  Emanuel  I.,  who  loved  his 
soldiers.  The  presence  of  the  Austrians  at  Alessandria 
and  Vercelli  was  a  bitter  grief  to  him,  and  he  regretted  his 


CHARLES  ALBERT  IN  SPAIN  23 

beloved  Turin.  He  had  taken  up  his  residence  at  Mon- 
calieri,^  and  often  drove  or  rode  to  the  gates  of  the  capital. 
There  he  would  stop,  gaze  at  the  old  walls,  the  green 
bastions,  the  Po  and  the  Valentino  Palace,  and  then  slowly 
and  sadly  return  to  Moncalieri.  He  never  approached  the 
royal  palace,  not  even  to  visit  his  brother. 

From  the  spring  of  1821  until  that  of  1823  the  Prince 
of  Carignano  was  an  exile  in  Tuscany.  No  prayers  or 
promises  could  move  Charles  Felix  to  recall  him.  When, 
in  1823,  King  Louis  XVHI.  of  France  sent  his  nephew 
and  heir-presumptive,  the  Due  d'Angouleme,  with  an  army 
into  Spain  to  help  Ferdinand  VH.  to  put  down  the  Con- 
stitutional Revolution,  Charles  Albert  asked  leave  to  join 
him.  On  the  one  hand,  the  prince  wished  to  show  his 
gratitude  to  Louis  XVHI.,  who  had  pleaded  for  him  with 
Charles  Felix ;  on  the  other,  his  dislike,  after  the  events  of 
1 82 1,  of  constitutions  and  Constitutionalists,  the  cause  of 
so  much  sorrow  and  trouble  to  him.  After  some  months' 
delay,  Charles  Felix  gave  the  desired  permission,  and  the 
prince  embarked  at  Leghorn  for  Marseilles  with  his  equerries 
Robilant  and  Costa,  and  Isasco,  officer  of  the  staff.  He 
arrived  in  time  to  take  part  in  the  campaign,  and  we  all 
know  how  he  distinguished  himself  at  the  Trocadero.^     All 

*  Four  miles  south  of  Turin. — Translator' s  Note. 

"^  The  Trocadero,  on  the  Isle  of  Leon,  near  Cadiz,  was  stormed  by  the 
French  on  the  night  of  the  31st  August  1823.  The  Prince  of  Carignano,  dis- 
regarding the  entreaties  of  his  attendants  and  the  orders  of  the  French  general 
Obert,  was  one  of  the  first  to  throw  himself  into  the  canal  and  wade  across  up 
to  his  neck  in  the  water.  Seizing  the  colours  of  a  regiment  of  grenadiers,  he 
led  them  against  the  enemy's  batteries.  The  gunners  were  killed  at  the  point 
of  the  bayonet,  as  the  cartouches  of  the  attacking  party  had  been  spoiled  by 
water.  Seeing  some  of  the  enemy  escaping  in  boats,  the  prince  himself 
laid  and  fired  two  of  their  guns,  and  sank  one  of  the  boats.  Next  day 
the  Due  d'Angouleme  decorated  him  with  his  own  Cross  of  St  Louis,  and 
—a  far  higher  honour — a  deputation  of  the  grenadiers  begged  his  acceptance  of 
the  epaulettes  of  one  of  their  regiment  who  had  fallen  in  the  attack,  saying  he 
was  so  brave  that  he  was  worthy  of  filling  the  place  of  their  dead  comrade. — 
Translator's  Note. 


24        AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A    VETERAN 

through  life  he  was  as  courageous  and  prompt  on  the  battle- 
field as  he  was  timid  and  irresolute  in  politics.  The  Due 
d'Angouleme  invited  him  to  Paris,  where  for  a  winter  he 
was  the  idol  of  society,  and  Louis  XVIII.  lost  no  oppor- 
tunity of  recommending  him  to  Charles  Felix. 

After  the  death  of  Victor  Emanuel  I.  in  January  1824, 
Charles  Albert  received  permission  to  return  to  Florence 
by  way  of  Turin,  and  to  pay  his  respects  to  the  king.  He 
was,  however,  ordered  to  enter  the  capital  at  nightfall,  and 
the  king  only  received  him  late  the  next  evening,  fearing  lest 
his  presence  at  the  palace  might  attract  a  crowd.  Charles 
Albert  told  me  afterwards  that  his  uncle  let  him  understand 
that  he  knew  the  prince  had  urged  Victor  Emanuel  I.  to 
resume  the  crown,  and  that  the  preference  he  had  always 
shown  for  the  late  king  had  annoyed  him.  But,  on  the 
whole,  the  interview  was  satisfactory,  and  shortly  after- 
wards the  Prince  of  Carignano  was  recalled  to  Turin  with 
his  family. 

He  was  handsomer  than  ever,  but  had  lost  his  brio  and 
gaiety  and  love  of  fun  ;  he  spoke  little,  never  raised  his 
eyes,  and  appeared  nervous  and  timid.  In  reality  he  was 
suspicious  of  everything  and  everybody.  The  events  of 
1 82 1  and  their  consequences,  and  the  diffidence  the  king 
always  showed  him,  had  taught  him  only  too  well  how 
dangerous  it  is  for  a  prince  to  be  carried  away  by  his  first 
impressions,  or  to  confide  his  thoughts  to  those  around 
him.  I  was  constantly  with  him  afterwards,  and  do  not 
think  he  ever  opened  his  mind  to,  or  felt  any  affection 
or  tenderness  for,  anyone,  save  perhaps  for  the  very 
few  women  who  gained  his  heart  and  knew  how  to 
keep  it. 

Before  leaving  the  subject  of  the  Academy  for  ever,  I 
must  mention  those  among  my  companions  whose  names 
became  celebrated  in  war  and  politics — Alphonse  La  Mar- 
mora, Camillo  di  Cavour,  and  Cavalli. 


MV  COMPANIONS  AT  THE  ACADEMY     25 

My  cousin,  La  Marmora,  was  three  years  my  senior ; 
audacious,  enterprising,  and  intelligent,  he  was  addicted  to 
laying  down  the  law  to  his  companions.  He  was  far  from 
studious,  so  his  mother,  dissatisfied  with  the  small  amount 
he  had  learned  at  the  Academy,  obliged  him  to  study  seri- 
ously after  he  left.  He  travelled  and  read  much  and  gained 
by  experience,  but  none  could  have  foretold  what  a  high 
position  he  was  destined  to  occupy.  Very  different  was 
Camillo  di  Cavour.  When  as  a  small  boy  he  joined  the 
college  in  1820,  he  showed  most  uncommon  acuteness  and 
intelligence.  Endowed  with  a  wonderful  memory,  he  was 
a  prodigious  reader,  particularly  of  political  and  historical 
works,  and  he  had  a  passion  for  mathematics.  The  events 
of  1 82 1  had  a  strong  effect  on  him,  and  he  wanted  to 
follow  and  know  the  conditions  of  Piedmont  and  of  other 
countries.  So  he  induced  his  elder  brother  Gustavus  to  come 
into  the  parlour  at  the  Academy,  which  was  always  empty 
during  play  hours,  and  from  behind  the  thick  grating  which 
separated  the  pupils  from  visitors  he  listened  to  the  news- 
papers his  brother  read  aloud.  Habitually  studious  he  was 
not,  but  during  some  weeks  before  the  examinations  he 
worked  double  tides,  and  always  came  out  first.  Cavalli, 
celebrated  as  the  inventor  of  the  rifled  cannon  called  after 
him,  even  as  a  boy  was  always  studying  mechanics.  His 
only  amusement  consisted  in  making  models  in  wood, 
iron,  or  anything  he  could  get  hold  of,  to  demonstrate 
his  ideas  for  the  improvement  of  implements  of  war. 
Shortly  after  leaving  the  Academy  he  invented  the  high- 
wheeled  gun-carriage,  which  was,  I  think,  first  adopted 
in  the  Camp  of  Instruction  instituted  by  Charles  Albert 
in  1833. 

In  1825  I  left  the  Academy  with  the  rank  of  lieutenant, 
and  began  my  service  as  officer  of  the  staff.  My  three 
elder  brothers  were  already  in  the  army,  the  three  younger 
I  left  behind  me  in  the  Academy. 


CHAPTER    III 

1825-1840 

The  Staff — General  Paolucci — Death  of  King  Charles  Felix — Accession  o 
Charles  Albert — His  Character — Life  at  Racconigi — Young  Italy— 
My  Journey  to  Sardinia — Bear  Hunting  with  Duke  of  Savoy. 

The  staff,  which  I  entered  towards  the  end  of  1825,  was 
very  different  from  what  it  is  now.  At  the  Restoration, 
when  Victor  Emanuel  I.  reorganised  the  Piedmontese 
army,  he  left  the  staff  very  much  as  it  had  been  before 
the  Revolution.  The  officers  were  considered  more  as 
topographical  engineers  than  as  part  of  the  army,  and  civil 
engineers  often  shared  in  their  work,  and  after  some  years 
obtained  permission  to  enter  the  corps.  Charles  Albert 
altered  all  this  in  1831;  civil  engineers  were  no  longer 
admitted,  the  number  of  officers  was  increased,  and  some 
of  them  were  put  either  to  active  or  to  office  work  under 
commanders  of  the  military  divisions. 

My  brother  Casimir  was  named  aide-de-camp  to  General 
Paolucci,  a  Modenese  who  for  many  years  had  been  in  the 
service  of  the  Czar.  Owing  to  the  menacing  attitude  ot 
France,  Charles  Felix  had  invited  him  to  come  from 
Russia  to  reform,  or  rather  reconstitute,  the  army.  His 
reputation  stood  high  after  a  brilliant  campaign  in  the 
Caucasus,  in  consequence  of  which  the  Czar  named  him 
Governor  of  Livonia  and  Courland,  but  he  did  not  possess 
the  military  talent  Charles  Felix  attributed  to  him.  I 
believe  the  principal,  if  not  the  only,  reform  he  made  in 
our  army  was  the  introduction  of  a  huge  bunch  of  white 

26 


DEATH  OF  CHARLES  FELIX  27 

feathers  on  the  hats  of  the  generals,  still  called  a  Paolucci. 
Fortunately  France  left  us  in  peace,  so  the  idea  of  recon- 
stituting the  army  was  abandoned.  Paolucci  was  made 
Governor  of  Genoa,  with  a  large  stipend,  by  Charles  Albert 
when  he  became  king,  out  of  gratitude  for  his  services  in 
advocating  the  prince's  cause  with  the  Czar  in  1821-22. 
He  held  this  post  till  1848,  but  how  or  when  he  died  I  do 
not  remember;  as  happens  to  us  old  soldiers  when  we 
leave  the  army,  he  vanished  in  silence  and  oblivion. 

In  the  beginning  of  1831  Princess  Marianne,  niece  of 
King  Charles  P'elix  and  one  of  the  twin  daughters  of  Victor 
Emanuel  I.,  married  the  Archduke  Ferdinand,  heir  to  the 
Austrian  throne.  The  King,  with  all  the  Court,  accom- 
panied the  bride  to  Milan,  and  on  the  homeward  journey 
His  Majesty  fell  ill,  after  drinking,  it  was  said,  a  lemonade 
at  Novara.  On  reaching  Turin  he  got  worse,  and  never  left 
his  bed  again.  The  Queen,  Maria  Christine  of  Naples, 
was  named  regent,  so  as  I  had  just  been  promoted  to  be 
a  captain,  my  commission  bears  her  signature. 

On  the  27th  April  1831  Charles  Felix  died,  and  was 
quietly  succeeded  by  Charles  Albert  of  Carignano.  Re- 
volutionary ideas  had  calmed  down,  men's  minds  were 
quieter,  and  several  of  the  Monarchists,  trusting  in  the 
experience  of  a  man  of  thirty-three,  who  lacked  neither 
intelligence  nor  culture,  hoped  for  a  pacific  and  wise  reign. 
Many,  however,  of  every  party  felt  the  same  suspicion  of 
Charles  Albert  that  the  late  king  had  always  shown.  The 
extreme  Monarchists  accused  him  of  Liberalism,  with  them 
a  synonym  of  Jacobinism  ;  they  never  forgave  him  for 
granting  the  Constitution  in  1821.  The  ultra-Liberals,  in 
the  minority  in  Piedmont,  but  numerous  in  other  parts  of 
Italy,  regarded  him  as  a  Carbonaro  who  had  betrayed 
his  brethren.  This  general  and  unmerited  distrust  which 
Charles  Albert  was  powerless  to  dispel  or  combat,  all  the 
necessary  documents  being  buried  in  the  State  archives 


28        AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A    VETERAN 

whence  they  were  only  disinterred  fifty  years  later,^  was 
the  perpetual  sorrow  and  torment  of  his  life — a  torment 
which  caused  him  to  appear  false  and  hesitating,  and  made 
his  conduct  incomprehensible  to  those  about  him  who  did 
not  possess  the  key  to  the  enigma.  I  saw  and  heard  many 
examples  of  such  apparently  astounding  duplicity  that,  in 
spite  of  myself,  my  affection  for  Charles  Albert  was  shaken. 
He  still  cherished  the  liberal  ideas  of  his  youth,  and  had 
inherited  the  ambition  of  the  House  of  Savoy,  but  at  the 
same  time  was  so  steeped  in  mysticism  that  he  conceived 
himself  to  be  destined  by  God  to  achieve  the  redemption 
of  Italy  on  the  condition  of  becoming  a  sacrifice.  Tied  by 
promises  and  pledges  given  before  he  came  to  the  throne, 
he  would  not  break  them  while  the  various  persons  con- 
cerned lived,  or  until  he  received  some  manifestation  of 
the  Divine  will,  which  he  fully  expected  and  in  which  he 
devoutly  believed.  His  ambiguous  and  tentative  manners 
were  a  blind  to  deceive  the  world  as  to  his  real  thoughts 
and  intentions. 

In  the  beginning  of  1833  my  aunt,  the  Marchioness 
Christina  d'Azeglio,  who  had  been  in  Florence  during  the 
exile  of  Charles  Albert  and  often  received  him  in  her 
house,  wrote  to  beg  him  to  give  her  nephew,  who  had  been 
one  of  his  pages,  a  place  at  his  Court.  The  king,  who 
never  forgot  old  friends,  at  once  named  me  one  of  his 
second  equerries. 

I  entered  on  my  service  in  May  at  Racconigi,  the 
favourite  summer  residence  of  the  king.  He  was  an  early 
riser,  and  at  half-past  five  we  were  on  horseback.  On  our 
return  we  breakfasted  in  our  rooms,  and  then  attended 
mass  with  the   royal  family,  after  which  the  king  retired 

^  N.  Bianchi  proved  by  documents  from  the  State  archives  that  there  was 
no  foundation  for  the  accusations  of  treachery  and  duplicity  in  the  prince's 
conduct  in  1821.  My  relation  is  founded  on  those  documents,  and  not  on  the 
common  belief  which  prevailed  in  my  youth  and  for  many  subsequent  years. 


LEADERS  OF  '  YOUNG  ITALY'  29 

to  his  study  until  luncheon  time.  In  the  evening  the 
queen  called  two  of  us  to  play  whist  with  her  and  one  of 
her  ladies ;  the  others  played  billiards  with  His  Majesty, 
or  read.  The  pleasantest  time  was  after  the  queen,  with 
her  ladies  and  gentlemen-in-waiting,  had  retired,  and  we 
equerries,  with  the  aide-de-camp  and  any  favoured  guest, 
remained  alone  with  the  king.  Sitting  on  the  edge  of  the 
billiard  table,  and  swinging  his  long  legs,  he  would  talk 
of  the  present  and  the  past,  recount  his  travels,  and  tell 
us  about  the  war  in  Spain  and  the  people  he  had  met, 
mimicking  their  voice  and  manner  to  perfection. 

1833  and  1834  were  sad  years  for  our  small  country. 
A  new  secret  society,  '  Young  Italy,'  an  offshoot  of  the 
Carbonari,  took  up  the  idea  of  a  united  and  independent 
Italy.  Since  the  French  Revolution,  or  rather  the  vic- 
torious progress  of  Bonaparte  through  the  Peninsula,  this 
had  filled  many  an  Italian  heart,  but  the  general  wish 
was  to  effect  the  change  gradually,  and  rather  in  a  Mon- 
archical than  in  a  Republican  sense.  Joseph  Mazzini,  a 
Genoese,  was  the  founder;  Orsini,  Ruffini,  Gallenga, 
Cattaneo,  and  Vochieri,  were  the  leaders  of  the  new  sect ; 
and,  with  the  inconsiderate  and  rampant  imprudence 
characteristic  of  Republican  youth,  they  thought  to  stir 
Italy  into  rebellion  with  three  or  four  hundred  followers, 
and  without  money  or  soldiers.  Mazzini,  however,  under- 
stood the  necessity  of  having  an  army  and  a  Prince  with 
him.  Abandoning  his  Republican  ideas,  he  wrote  his 
famous  letter  to  Charles  Albert,  inviting  him  to  follow  in 
his  footsteps  and  become  the  liberator  of  Italy,  declaring 
that  he  had  twenty  millions  of  men  ready  to  follow  the 
Italian  flag. 

The  king,  who  had  good  reason  to  doubt  the  existence 
of  those  twenty  millions  of  men  and  did  not  wish  to  offend 
Austria  who  was  jealously  watching  him,  turned  a  deaf  ear. 
Sad  experience  had  taught  him  prudence,  and  how  little 


30        AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A    VETERAN 

secret  societies  and  revolutionists  were  to  be  relied  on. 
He  was  determined  to  be  independent  of  sects  or  parties, 
to  do  nothing  hastily,  but  gradually  to  create  an  army 
capable  of  resisting  the  attack  of  an  enemy.  Driven  out 
of  France,  the  Mazzinians  had  taken  refuge  in  Switzer- 
land, whence  they  attempted  to  stir  up  disorders  in  Savoy. 
A  paper,  called  Young  Italy  after  the  society,  was  widely 
distributed,  particularly  in  the  army.  The  contagion 
spread  from  Chamb6ry  to  Alessandria,  and  thence  to 
Turin,  and  the  king  was  made  seriously  uneasy  by  the 
reports  of  the  military  authorities.  A  special  commission 
was  named  to  search  for  the  culprits,  and  a  court  of  judges 
at  Turin,  with  the  Count  di  Cimier  (or  Cimella)  of  Nice  as 
president.  He  exaggerated  in  everything,  in  accusations, 
in  judging,  in  punishing,  and  was  cruel  and  unjust.  A 
copy  of  Young  Italy  found  in  a  soldier's  knapsack  or  in 
a  house  sufficed  to  send  a  man  to  prison,  and  more  than 
one  was  shot  or  guillotined.  Many  arrests  were  made  in 
Savoy,  in  Alessandria,  and  in  Genoa  among  the  aristo- 
cracy ;  most  of  the  latter  were  absolved  after  some  weeks 
of  imprisonment,  save  V.  Gioberti,  who  was  exiled.  Several 
soldiers  were  condemned  to  death,  others  to  the  galleys 
or  to  long  terms  of  imprisonment,  by  the  military  tribunal. 
The  rewards  bestowed  on  the  judges  who  had  shown  the 
greatest  severity  produced  a  painful  impression  ;  people 
looked  grave  and  sad,  and  even  at  Court  there  were 
whispered  lamentations  as  to  the  course  of  events.  When 
the  first  arrests  in  April  were  known  the  members  of 
'  Young  Italy '  fled  from  Piedmont,  and  order  was  apparently 
re-established,  but  men's  minds  were  uneasy.  I  was  on 
duty  at  Racconigi  at  that  time,  and  after  receiving 
despatches  from  Turin  the  king  grew  sombre  and  taciturn. 
No  one  spoke  during  our  morning  rides ;  we  were  all 
enveloped  in  the  black  cloud  of  melancholy  which 
oppressed  Charles  Albert. 


FLIGHT  OF  THE  MAZZINIANS  31 

In  1834  the  Mazzinians,  trusting  to  the  assurances  of 
a  few  Savoyards  that  the  troops  would  flock  to  the  tri- 
colour flag,  entered  Savoy  in  two  divisions,  one  led  by 
Ramorino,  the  other  by  Antonini,  who  had  served  in  the 
Polish  army.  Disappointed  by  their  cold  reception,  and 
hearing  that  the  Sardinian  troops  were  advancing,  the 
rabble  dispersed  and  returned  to  France  or  Switzerland, 
Mazzini  among  the  first.  A  few  military  executions, 
necessary  for  the  maintenance  of  discipline,  took  place 
at  Chamb^ry,  but  the  stern  court  of  justice  of  the  pre- 
ceding year  having  been  dissolved,  the  sentences  of  death 
passed  on  the  leaders  were  only  promulgated  after  they 
had  left  the  country.  Among  these  was  Garibaldi,  a 
master  mariner  of  the  third  class.  For  some  years  there 
was  comparative  quiet,  but  during  his  whole  reign  Charles 
Albert  was  tormented  by  the  threats  of  the  Mazzinian 
Society  on  one  hand  and  the  Society  of  Jesus  on  the 
other — the  first  trying  to  lure  him  with  the  promise  of  a 
kingdom  on  earth,  the  second  with  one  in  heaven. 

In  the  spring  of  1835  my  brother-in-law.  Count  of 
Bernezzo,  general  in  command  of  the  division  of  Cagliari, 
died,  and  my  sister  Louisa  wrote  to  beg  me  to  come  to 
Sardinia  to  accompany  her  and  her  small  children  back  to 
Piedmont.  A  journey  to  Sardinia  in  those  days  was  a 
serious  affair.  There  were  no  railways,  no  steamboats,  no 
telegraphs.  The  post-boat  went  once  a  month,  and  took 
from  three  to  fifteen  days,  according  to  the  wind.  The 
boat  had  left  before  I  got  my  sister's  letter,  so  not  to  lose 
time  I  embarked  at  Genoa  on  a  small  mercantile  ship 
about  twenty  metres  long.  The  weather  was  bad  and  the 
wind  contrary,  and  for  twelve  days  I  lay  tied  to  the  mast 
on  a  rug  by  the  side  of  the  beautiful  Countess  Rignon,  who 
was  going  with  her  brother,  the  Marquis  of  Boyl,  to 
Sardinia.  I  never  saw  or  spoke  to  her,  for  we  were 
both  frightfully  ill.     The  sea  was  scT rough  that  we  had 


32        AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A   VETERAN 

to  put  in  at  the  island  of  Asinara,  where  we  passed  the 
night  in  a  shepherd's  hut,  and  next  day  crossed  over  to 
Sassari.  A  wretched  diligence  was  the  only  mode  of 
transport  from  Sassari  to  Cagliari,  so  I  thankfully  ac- 
cepted the  offer  of  General  Crotti  to  procure  me  a  horse 
and  give  me  one  of  the  '  31 '  as  a  guide.  The  '31 '  was 
a  society  charged  with  the  postal  service,  and  took  its 
name  from  the  number  of  its  members.  There  was  a 
postman  for  every  day  in  the  month,  and  as  soon  as 
the  post-boat  was  signalled,  the  man  whose  number  coin- 
cided with  the  day  saddled  his  horse,  threw  the  big 
saddlebags  across  his  flanks,  and  went  to  receive  the 
letters  which  he  distributed  at  the  different  post-offices 
along  the  road.  I  took  two  days  and  a  half  to  traverse 
Sardinia,  sleeping  one  night  at  Macomer  in  the  house  of 
a  rich  proprietor,  and  the  second  in  a  village,  the  name 
of  which  I  forget.  As  was  the  custom  then  I  begged 
hospitality  for  the  night  at  the  house  of  the  principal 
man  of  the  place.  But  finding  the  whole  family  lived  in 
one  room  with  various  domestic  animals  I  preferred  to 
roll  myself  in  my  cloak  and  sleep  outside. 

Prisoners  condemned  to  forced  labour  were  in  those 
days  transported  to  Sardinia  and  employed  in  gangs  on 
the  estates  of  the  great  landowners,  or  permitted  to  take 
service  in  shops  or  private  families.  My  brother-in-law 
had  taken  a  frank,  honest,  good-tempered  young  fellow  as 
cook  and  servant,  who  had  been  a  shop-boy  at  Stresa  on 
the  Lago  Maggiore,  and  was  condemned  as  a  domestic  thief 
for  stealing  twelve  francs.  '  They  did  quite  right  to  punish 
me,'  he  used  to  say.  '  I  was  a  mere  boy,  and  stole  a  trifle ; 
who  knows  what  a  scoundrel  I  might  have  become  if  I  had 
not  been  found  out  ? ' 

My  sister  was  so  anxious  to  obtain  his  release  and 
send  him  back  to  Stresa,  that  I  wrote  to  the  king,  who 
pardoned  him,  and  most  graciously  sent  a  corvette  to  take 


SARDINIA  IN  1835  33 

us  back  to  Genoa.  With  us  sailed  my  brother  Emanuel, 
who  had  served  three  years  in  Sardinia  and  married  there. 
His  wife  was  of  noble  family,  pretty  and  nice,  but,  like  all 
Sardinians,  full  of  prejudice  and  superstition.  During  the 
voyage  I  observed  that  she  was  always  chewing  pieces  of 
paper  with  writing  on  them,  which  she  took  out  of  a  small 
box.  These  were  sentences  out  of  the  New  Testament, 
and  verses  from  the  Psalms,  which  her  aunt  had  written 
out  for  her  as  a  sure  preventive  against  sea  sickness.  The 
more  sick  she  was  the  more  paper  she  swallowed,  so  at 
last,  after  vainly  trying  to  persuade  her  to  stop,  I  took 
advantage  of  a  bad  bout  of  sickness  and  threw  the  box 
into  the  sea,  which  made  her  very  angry. 

In  1838  I  accompanied  the  young  Duke  of  Savoy  to 
the  Monte  della  Moriana,  where  a  bear  had  been  seen. 
We  drove  to  S.  Michele,  and  climbed  to  the  top  of  Mon- 
tembrun  on  foot,  while  the  beaters  drove  the  forest.  But 
in  vain  ;  the  bear  had  already  escaped  into  the  valley  on 
the  other  side,  and  the  king  having  fixed  the  day  and 
hour  of  our  return  to  Turin  we  were  forced  to  abandon 
our  bear-hunt.  Charles  Albert  was  already  beginning  to 
show  the  tenacity  and  inflexibility  of  character  which  led 
to  more  than  one  disaster  in  1848. 


OF    THK 

XJNIVERSIT"X 
Of  ^~ —  ...     . 


CHAPTER    IV 
1 840- 1 84 1 

Rumours  of  War— My  Secret  Mission  to  France — Am  named  First  Equerry 
to  Duke  of  Savoy — His  Shooting  Parties — His  Dislike  of  La  Marmora 
— His  Marriage. 

Rumours  of  wars  were  rife  in  the  spring  of  1840.  Russia 
and  Prussia,  together  with  England  and  Austria,  were 
united  to  uphold  the  rights  of  Sultan  Mahmoud  in  Syria 
against  his  vassal,  Mahomet  Ali,  Viceroy  of  Egypt.  The 
latter  had  received  encouragement,  if  not  actual  aid,  from 
France,  who,  with  one  of  those  poetical  ideas  which  ought 
to  be  banished  from  politics,  remembered  her  Egyptian 
successes  in  1798,  and  favoured  Mahomet  Ali  in  his 
struggle  against  the  Sultan.  Offended  at  her  exclusion 
from  the  quadruple  alliance,  she  revived  the  idea  of  forti- 
fying Paris,  and  there  were  rumours  of  armaments  on  our 
frontier  which  alarmed  the  king  and  ministers. 

One  September  morning  I  was  summoned  by  Charles 
Albert,  who,  under  a  promise  of  secrecy — religiously  kept 
by  me  for  many  years — said  he  wished,  independently  of 
his  ministers,  to  know  the  truth,  and  desired  me  to  obtain 
information.  As  a  simple  tourist  I  was  to  go  to  Savoy, 
and  thence  to  Dauphine  and  Lyons.  I  applied  for  leave, 
and  the  king  gave  me  a  passport  in  which  my  military 
status  was  not  mentioned.      Charles  Albert  bade  me  be 

34 


DISGUISED  AS  A  BOTANIST  35 

careful,  as  in  case  I  was  arrested  by  the  French  authorities, 
he  would  disown  me. 

Fully  resolved  not  to  be  caught,  I  provided  myself  with 
a  botanist's  vasculum,  and  went  to  Chamb^ry,  where  I 
established  my  headquarters,  I  knew  all  the  country 
round,  and,  with  my  collecting-box  over  my  shoulder, 
crossed  and  recrossed  the  frontier  several  times  without 
molestation.  Gathering  plants  one  hot  morning  under  the 
walls  of  the  fort  of  Barau,  I  saw  a  veteran  watching  me 
from  the  glacis,  and  hailed  him.  Approaching  nearer,  I 
asked  him  whether  there  was  any  spring  near  by,  as  I  was 
thirsty. 

'  I  know  nothing  about  water,'  he  answered.  '  My  only 
drink  is  good  wine,  and  if  you'll  come  up  I'll  give  you  a 
glass.' 

I  did  not  wait  to  be  asked  twice.  After  drinking,  I 
offered  him  a  cigar,  and  strolled  on  to  the  parapets  prais- 
ing the  view.  Chatting  and  smoking  we  walked  about 
and  I  saw  all  I  wished.  There  had  been  no  fresh  move- 
ment of  troops,  so  the  veteran  and  his  companions  had  no 
reason  for  suspicion. 

At  Grenoble  I  entered  a  tobacconist's  shop,  and  thought 
I  knew  the  handsome  woman  who  stood  behind  the  counter. 
She  recognised  me  at  once,  and  began  talking  in  Pied- 
montese  dialect.  I  stopped  her  with  a  glance,  and,  as 
soon  as  we  were  alone,  told  her  not  to  talk  Piedmontese, 
and  above  all,  not  to  call  me  captain,  as  being  absent 
without  regular  leave,  I  might  get  into  trouble. 

She  had  lived  in  Turin  for  some  years  with  a  cousin  of 
mine,  by  whom  she  had  a  child,  which  was  in  the  foundling 
hospital,  and  which  she  wished  to  claim.  I  promised  to 
help  her  as  soon  as  I  returned  to  Turin,  and,  through  my 
uncle  who  was  director  of  the  hospital,  was  able  to  do  so. 

A  handsome  and  taking  woman  she  was  in  great 
favour  with  the  prefect,  and  procured  me  permission  to 


36        AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A    VETERAN 

visit  the  heights,  which  were  fortified.  At  Gap  I  gleaned 
much  information  from  the  officers  of  the  garrison,  who 
dined  at  my  inn  ;  but  at  Brian^on,  which  was  full  of 
troops,  incessant  rain  prevented  me  from  herborising,  and 
I  soon  found  myself  an  object  of  suspicion.  The  gendarmes 
came  to  my  room,  examined  my  passport  and  my  port- 
manteau, which  only  contained  linen  and  a  notebook  with 
washing  bills,  and  lists  of  plants,  arranged  as  a  cypher  to 
remind  me  of  the  news  I  had  collected.  The  police  were 
nonplussed ;  but  that  afternoon  I  saw  others  arrive,  and 
determined  to  leave. 

On  reaching  Turin  I  reported  myself  to  the  king,  and 
was  surprised  to  find  Charles  Albert  gay  and  bright  as  in 
former  years,  before  1833- 1834  had  set  such  an  indelible 
stamp  of  melancholy  on  him.  The  change  was  due  to 
the  visit  his  intelligent,  lively,  and  beautiful  sister,  Maria 
Elizabeth,  the  Vice-Queen  of  Lombardy,  had  paid  him 
with  all  her  family.  The  king  was  pleased  with  the  way 
I  had  fulfilled  his  instructions,  and  promised  to  name 
me  one  of  the  first  equerries  to  the  Duke  of  Savoy, 
just  engaged  to  the  Archduchess  Maria  Adelaide,  second 
daughter  of  the  vice-queen. 

During  the  winter  of  1840-41  I  was  continually  in 
attendance  on  the  young  duke,  but  in  the  spring  I 
was  ordered  on  ordnance  service  in  the  Alps,  where  I 
nearly  lost  my  life.  Soon  after  my  return  I  accompanied 
the  Duke  to  Genoa,  and  for  twenty-five  years,  with  the 
exception  of  two  journeys  in  1843  and  1849,  I  saw  Victor 
Emanuel  nearly  every  day.  Whether  he  knew  me  better, 
or  that  my  frank,  open  character  pleased  him  more  than 
the  usual  ways  of  courtiers,  or  that,  though  not  sharing  his 
vehement  passion  for  all  physical  exercises,  I  liked  open- 
air  life  and  was  an  excellent  walker,  I  know  not,  but  even 
when  not  on  duty  I  was  always  called.  I  could  ride  all 
day  long,  or  walk  for  ten  or  twelve  consecutive  hours,  with- 


LA  MARMORA  LAYS  DOWN  THE  LAW    37 

out  feeling  anything  but  a  tremendous  appetite,  and,  like 
the  duke,  I  cared  more  for  quantity  than  for  quality  in 
my  food.  One  or  other  of  the  officers  of  the  Court  or 
their  sons  were  invited  to  his  shooting  parties,  and  among 
these  at  first  was  Alphonse  La  Marmora,  equerry  to  the 
Duke  of  Genoa.  But  his  authoritative,  rather  overbearing 
manner  soon  annoyed  Victor  Emanuel,  who  had  plenty 
of  good  sense,  and  accepted  advice  when  given  unpreten- 
tiously and  at  the  proper  time.  La  Marmora  with  the 
duke,  as  with  us  all,  posed  as  a  professor,  and  wanted  to 
lay  down  the  law.  At  the  slightest  opposition  he  was 
ready  to  exclaim,  like  an  old  uncle  of  mine,  '  I  feu  viaggid 
e  lett' ^  He  had  read  and  travelled  much  more  than  other 
officers,  but  he  took  care  everyone  should  know  it,  and 
Victor  Emanuel,  who  never  imposed  his  high  rank, 
although  fully  conscious  of  it,  disliked  these  airs  of 
superiority,  often  asserted  with  considerable  brusqueness. 
I  was  also  sometimes  rather  brusque  with  my  young 
prince,  and  held  to  my  own  opinion,  but  only  when  he  did 
something  I  knew  his  father  would  not  like,  so  he  took  it 
good -humou redly,  laughed,  and  said, '  La,  Id  ch'as  calma, 
ckas  calnia.  Un  antra  volta  i  fareu  coutn  a  veul  chiel!  2 
With  La  Marmora,  on  the  contrary,  he  got  angry,  answered 
curtly,  and  gradually  ceased  to  invite  him.  His  place  was 
filled  by  the  son  of  General  Scati,  a  college  friend  of  mine. 
Scati  was  as  bad  a  shot  as  myself,  and  one  day  Victor 
Emanuel,  with  a  keeper,  distanced  us,  and  climbed  the 
ridge  of  a  mountain,  shooting  blackcock  as  he  went.  As 
the  birds  could  not  be  found,  he  thought  he  had  missed 
them,  and  was  much  put  out.  They  had  fallen  close  to 
us,  so  we  picked  them  up,  and  when  we  joined  him  said 
nothing.  The  duke,  who  was  a  capital  shot,  could  not 
understand  how  we,  so  far  below   him  and  such  inferior 

^  *  I  have  travelled  and  read.' 

"  *  There,  there,  be  cahn,  be  calm.     Another  time  I'll  do  as  you  wish.' 


38        AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A   VETERAN 

shots,  had  made  good  bags.  When  we  told  him  all  the 
birds  were  his,  he  was  delighted,  and  ate  them  later  with 
redoubled  zest. 

Charles  Albert  never  allowed  his  son  to  be  absent  more 
than  two  or  three  days  ;  so  to  gain  time  he  left  Turin  in  the 
night,  particularly  when  v/e  went  to  Casanova,  near  Poirino, 
the  Count  of  Robilant's  large  property,  the  shooting  over 
which  he  reserved  for  the  duke.  One  morning  we  were  to 
start  at  one.  Carriages  had  been  ordered,  and  I  was  to  fetch 
Victor  Emanuel  at  the  royal  palace.  With  my  gun  over 
my  shoulder,  I  passed  the  sentry  at  a  quarter  to  one,  and 
found  the  palace  gate  ajar  without  any  porter.  Entering 
the  great  saloon  of  the  Svizzeri,  I  found  several  servants 
.stretched  on  mattresses  fast  asleep,  and  two  policemen 
snoring  on  a  bench.  At  the  top  of  the  stairs  leading  to 
the  duke's  apartments  I  found  two  more  servants  asleep, 
all  the  doors  open,  and  the  corridors  illuminated.  Without 
any  difficulty,  and  without  being  seen  by  anyone,  I  reached 
his  bedside.  In  a  few  minutes  he  was  ready,  and  I  took 
the  opportunity  to  tell  him  how,  unseen  and  unchallenged) 
with  my  gun  on  my  shoulder,  I  had  been  able  to  reach 
his  room.  '  What  I  have  done,  others  may  do  with 
different  motives,'  I  said.  *  Allow  me  to  give  orders  that 
the  access  to  your  room  at  night  should  be  less  easy.' 

He  shrugged  his  shoulders  and  laughed.  '  Who  could 
have  any  evil  intentions  against  me?  Pray  don't  have 
me  put  under  lock  and  key.' 

The  marriage  of  Victor  Emanuel  with  his  cousin  Maria 
Adelaide  took  place  on  the  nth  of  April  1842,  with  great 
pomp.  Charles  Albert  excelled  in  organising  magnificent 
ceremonials,  without  throwing  away  money  or  making 
debts.  When  he  came  to  the  throne,  the  public  treasury 
and  the  private  patrimony  of  the  House  of  Savoy  were  in 
bad  order,  but  by  constant  and  wise  economy  he  cleared 
off  all  liabilities. 


MARRIAGE  OF  VICTOR  EMANUEL         39 

After  the  marriage  at  the  royal  castle  of  Stupinigi, 
the  bride  and  bridegroom  entered  Turin  with  the  same 
ceremonial  as  had  been  used  in  18 17,  only  the  State 
carriage  was  different,  and  there  were  no  pages  on  the 
steps. 

Marshall  Radetsky,  commander-in-chief  of  the  troops 
in  Lombardy,  accompanied  the  Italian  royal  family,  and 
was  received  by  Charles  Albert  an  hour  after  his  arrival. 
They  little  thought  under  what  different  circumstances 
they  would  meet  seven  years  later  in  the  Lombard  Quad- 
rilateral and  on  the  disastrous  field  of  Novara.  The  king 
treated  the  marshal  with  the  greatest  distinction,  and  on 
the  latter  expressing  his  disappointment  at  not  being  able 
to  stay  for  the  tournament  that  was  to  be  held  in  Piazza 
S.  Carlo,  a  rehearsal  was  ordered  for  him  in  the  royal 
garden. 


CHAPTER    V 
I 842- I 847 

Maria  Adelaide — Private  Life  of  Victor  Emanuel — My  relations  with  Him 
— Maria  Elizabeth  visits  Her  Brother,  Charles  Albert — His  Melancholy 
increases — His  uncertain  Policy — Election  of  Pope  Pius  IX. — Meeting 
of  Agrarian  Society  at  Casale — Charles  Albert  grants  Reforms — Birth 
of  Maria  Pia  of  Savoy. 

After  a  month's  sojourn  at  Turin,  the  Vice-King  and 
Queen  of  Lombardy  returned  to  Milan,  and  the  Court 
relapsed  into  the  usual  routine  and  stern  discipline.  The 
sweet  smile  and  angelic  goodness  of  Maria  Adelaide 
softened  and  illumined,  but  brought  no  life  or  gaiety  to 
the  palace,  where  all  were  awed  by  the  presence  of  the 
solemn  and  silent  king.  The  Duchess  of  Savoy  resembled 
her  mother  in  many  things,  but  lacked  the  brio  and  vivacity 
which,  like  a  trumpet  blast,  roused  everyone  who  approached 
the  vice-queen,  scattering  melancholy  and  misanthropy  to 
the  winds.  Victor  Emanuel  loved  his  cousin  from  the 
first  time  he  saw  her,  and  his  affection  was  lasting.  But 
she  failed  to  fill  his  life,  devoid  of  all  mental  occupation, 
as  Charles  Albert  never  allowed  his  son  to  participate  in 
affairs  of  State.  The  duke  continued  his  bachelor  habits, 
and  having  more  liberty  after  his  marriage,  was  often 
away  on  shooting  excursions  for  days  together.  At  Court, 
Victor  Emanuel  was  the  heir  to  the  throne,  a  loving  hus- 
band and  a  respectful  son  ;  but  outside  he  gave  full  scope 

40 


PRIVATE  LIFE  OF  VICTOR  EMANUEL     41 

to  his  natural  instincts  and  tastes,  and  became  a  mousquetaire 
of  the  seventeenth  century.  He  dressed  rather  in  that 
style,  and  physically  resembled  Dumas'  heroes,  but  with- 
out their  vulgar  manners  and  tastes.  Though  on  familiar 
terms  with  those  about  him,  and  neither  proud  nor  haughty, 
he  was  jealous  of  his  personal  dignity  and  position,  and  for 
no  man  would  he  have  lowered  them.  With  women  it  was 
different.  It  was  sufficient  for  them  to  be  young,  pretty, 
and  not  coy  to  gain  his  affections  for  the  moment.  But  I 
am  perfectly  convinced  that  among  the  large  number — a 
sort  of  magic  lantern  of  pretty  women  of  all  grades  of 
society — not  one  ever  really  touched  his  heart.  That 
belonged  entirely  to  Maria  Adelaide.  Absolute  trust, 
respectful  and  passionate  admiration,  and  all  his  tenderest 
feelings,  were  so  entirely  hers  that  none  remained  for 
others,  not  even  for  the  woman  who  for  many  years  shared 
his  life  far  more  than  the  duchess  had  ever  done,  who 
bore  him  children,  and  at  last  became  his  morganatic 
wife.*  Without  pretending  to  be  what  he  was  not,  Victor 
Emanuel  gave  the  best  of  himself  to  Maria  Adelaide. 
He  had  no  secrets  from  her,  though  he  did  not  tell  her 
everything,  because  the  litany  would  have  been  long  and 
monotonous  and  unfit  for  her  chaste  ears.  What  she 
knew  she  pardoned,  and  even  justified — a  miracle  of 
supreme  indulgence  and  goodness  not  easy  to  understand, 
save  by  those  who,  like  myself,  stood  between  the  two 
lives  of  the  duke.      The  only  person  who  had  any  right 

•  In  1 8 14  and  1815,  when,  as  boys,  we  watched  the  soldiers  exercising 
on  the  bastions,  the  colossal  drum-major  was  an  object  of  great  admiration. 
When  the  band  ceased  playing  he  walked  about,  and  sometimes  smilingly 
bent  down  and  lifted  a  child  up  on  to  his  broad  shoulders.  It  was  like  being 
on  the  top  of  a  church  tower,  and  we  all  admired  and  liked  Vercellani. 
Thirty  years  later,  returning  from  Racconigi  with  the  duke,  in  the  suite  of 
Charles  Albert,  who  had  passed  a  regiment  of  the  Grenadier  Guards  in  review,  I 
recognised  Vercellani  on  the  balcony  of  a  small  house.  By  his  side  stood  a 
beautiful  girl  of  about  sixteen ;  she  was  his  daughter,  the  bella  Rosina,  the 
future  Countess  of  Mirafiore. 


42         AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A    VETERAN 

to  blame  him  abstained,  wisely,  I  think,  showing  perfect 
tact  and  an  intimate  knowledge  of  her  husband's  exception- 
ally ardent  temperament.  I  always  tried  (without  posing 
as  a  mentor)  to  restrain  him ;  the  thirteen  years'  difference 
of  age  between  us,  and  the  affectionate  familiarity  with 
which  he  treated  me,  allowed  me  to  speak  with  frankness 
and  a  certain  authority.  I  must  add  that,  although  in 
no  way  responsible  for  the  actions  of  the  duke,  I  soon 
discovered  that  the  royal  family  thought  I  had  more 
power  over  him  than  I  possessed.  I  perceived  this  from 
the  bitter-sweet  words  of  the  queen,  *  Mais  Monsieur  de  la 
Rocca,  pourquoi  n'avez  vous  done  pas  ramene  Victor  plus 
tdt,'  if  by  chance  we  were  five  minutes  late  for  lunch 
or  dinner  in  consequence  of  a  horse  falling  or  a  carriage 
breaking  down.  Charles  Albert  allowed  no  excuses,  and 
put  his  son  under  arrest,  even  when  once  he  appeared 
with  his  arm  in  a  sling.  I  saw  it  also  in  the  soft  and 
entreating  eyes  of  the  Duchess  of  Savoy  when  she  said, 
'  Monsieur  de  la  Rocca,  je  vous  en  prie,  ne  laissez  pas 
passer  Victor  a  cheval  dans  le  torrent  Sangone  (when  we 
were  at  Stupinigi)  dans  la  Polcevera  (when  we  were  at 
Genoa)  le  courant  pourrait  I'emporter ; '  and  still  more  in 
the  angry  glance  the  king  cast  at  me  before  looking  at 
his  son.  So  I  did  my  utmost  to  prevent  mishaps,  and 
gave  stringent  orders  to  the  hunt  and  stablemen.  As 
to  preventing  the  duke  from  fording  rivers  or  jumping 
dangerous  places,  I  did  my  best ;  but  like  all  high-spirited 
young  men,  particularly  princes  who  think  it  their  duty  to 
have  a  double  dose  of  courage,  he  was  often  imprudent, 
and  liked  to  show  off.  Gradually,  however,  I  persuaded 
him  to  be  more  careful,  and  he  would  say,  '  La,  i  veui  nen 
ch'a  sia  cria  an  causa  mia!'^  In  the  matter  of  morals  it  was 
more  difficult.  He  was  profoundly  sceptical  as  to  the  virtue 
of  women,  and  so  many  gave  him  good  reason  to  doubt  it 

^  'There,  I  don't  wish  you  to  be  scolded  on  my  account.' 


MELANCHOL  V  OF  CHARLES  ALBERT     43 

that  reasoning  with  him  was  useless,  facts  were  always  in 
his  favour. 

In  the  spring  of  1843  I  went  with  my  friend,  the 
Marquis  of  Mon  forte,  to  Paris.  Cavour  was  there,  and 
took  us  to  dine  at  the  fashionable  restaurants,  and  intro- 
duced us  to  the  clubs.  I  remember  one  day,  in  the 
Champs  Elys^es,  he  introduced  us  to  Thiers,  who  was 
going  to  take  his  daily  riding  lesson.  He  wanted  to 
become  a  good  horseman  in  order  to  turn  his  military 
studies  to  practical  use  in  case  France  should  be  involved 
in  war.  From  Paris  we  went  to  Belgium,  and  thence  to 
London,  where  we  parted  from  Cavour  and  returned  home, 
vzd  Holland,  the  Rhine  and  Switzerland. 

In  July  1845  the  Austrian  family  of  Lombardy  came 
to  Piedmont  for  the  last  time,  and  the  entertainments 
given  at  Racconigi  in  their  honour  were  even  more  splendid 
than  those  of  1840.  Afterwards  people  declared  this  to 
be  another  proof  of  the  double  dealing  and  falseness  of 
Charles  Albert,  and  that,  determined  to  declare  war  on 
Austria,  he  had  tried  to  deceive  her  by  the  courtesy  and 
magnificence  of  his  reception  of  the  Emperor's  uncle  and 
his  family.  This  was  not  the  impression  made  on  anyone 
about  the  Court.  Charles  Albert  was  devotedly  fond  of 
his  sister,  and  delighted  in  her  society.  The  presence  of 
Maria  Elizabeth  and  the  occupation  of  preparing  amuse- 
ments for  her  seemed,  for  the  moment,  to  dull  his  bodily 
and  mental  sufferings.  The  excitement  of  the  /e/es,  and 
still  more  the  presence  of  his  beloved  sister,  brought  the 
last  flush  of  happiness  and  gaiety  to  his  pale  face.  Soon 
after  her  departure  his  melancholy,  favoured  by  physical 
suffering  and  religious  aceticism,  increased.  He  grew 
thinner  and  yellower,  while  doctor  and  confessor  seemed 
leagued  together  to  encourage,  instead  of  restraining,  his 
inclination  to  excessive  austerity.  The  unhappiness  and 
restlessness  of  the  king  were  patent  to  all,  even   bodily 


44        AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A    VETERAN 

pain  could  not  triumph  over  his  mental  anguish.  He 
read  the  books  of  Gioberti  and  Balbo,  and  gave  private 
audiences  to  Massimo  d'Azeglio,  who,  in  his  quality  of 
painter  and  poet,  had  traversed  all  central  Italy  and  came 
to  inform  Charles  Albert  of  the  rapid  growth  of  the  idea 
of  an  independent  and  united  nation,  and  of  the  general 
conviction  that  the  House  of  Savoy  was  the  only  possible 
factor  in  the  redemption  of  Italy. 

About  this  time  the  king  caused  a  medal  to  be  struck, 
a  sphinx  with  lion's  paws  throttling  an  eagle,  and  the 
motto, /"atans  mon  astre,  on  one  side  (taken,  they  said,  from 
an  old  seal  belonging  to  the  Counts  of  Savoy),  and  heads 
of  Dante,  Columbus,  Galileo  and  Michelangelo  on  the 
other.  Charles  Albert  evidently  felt  the  time  was  ap- 
proaching when  the  condition  of  Italy  might  be  improved. 
He  did  not  lack  the  enthusiasm  which  produces  heroes 
and  martyrs,  but  he  had  no  trust  in  the  character  and 
moral  force  of  the  Italian  people,  and  therefore  did  not 
consider  the  time  for  appealing  to  arms  had  come.  Above 
all,  the  painful  experience  of  former  years  had  filled  him 
with  such  a  horror  of  secret  societies  and  Revolutionists, 
that  he  declined  to  avail  himself  of  aid  that  was  daily 
proferred. 

The  Republicans,  the  most  numerous  sect,  were  waiting 
impatiently  in  Malta,  Corfu,  and  Switzerland,  for  a  pro- 
pitious moment  for  stirring  up  revolution  in  Italy.  They 
had  attempted  it  in  1844  in  Calabria,  and  in  the  Romagna 
in  1845,  and  failed.  Aware  of  this,  Charles  Albert,  while 
wishing  to  take  decided  action  against  Austria  at  some 
future  time,  was  fearful  of  compromising  himself  in 
advance.  Hence  he  appeared  undecided,  wavering,  and 
even  hypocritical,  and  by  degrees  the  faith,  esteem,  and 
love  of  those  about  him  diminished,  even  of  those  who 
for  years  had  been  his  friends  and  faithful  servants.  They 
were    astounded    to    see    him   one   day   applauding    the 


A  GIT  A  TION  IN  ITAL  V  45 

words  and  acts  of  La  Margherita,  Minister  of  Foreign 
Affairs,  a  clerical  and  a  partisan  of  absolutism,  while  on 
the  next  he  listened  approvingly  to  the  Minister  of  War, 
Villamarina,  a  reputed  Liberal.  Such  uncertain  conduct 
aroused  the  suspicion  of  foreign  powers,  especially  of 
Austria,  whose  ill-humour,  fanned  by  the  reports  of  her 
emissaries,  vented  itself  in  commercial  reprisals.  These 
so  angered  Charles  Albert  as  to  cause  great  uneasiness 
in  the  diplomatic  body  and  corresponding  hopes  among 
the  Liberals. 

Meanwhile  Pope  Gregory  XVI.  died,  and  was  succeeded 
by  Cardinal  Mastei  Ferretti,  as  Pius  IX.  He  granted  an 
almost  universal  amnesty  to  the  political  prisoners  of  the 
former  reign,  and  was  at  once  hailed  as  a  Liberal  Pope 
and  the  arbitrator  of  a  federated  and  constitutional  Italy. 
His  real  motive  was  simply  an  act  of  clemency  towards 
prisoners  who  had  nearly  served  their  time ;  but  he  was 
driven  farther  than  he  intended  by  the  acclamations  and 
ovations  with  which  this  concession  was  received.  The 
Italian  people,  possessed  by  the  passionate  desire  of  a 
fusion  between  the  Papacy  and  Liberal  institutions,  either 
did  not,  or  would  not  see  this,  and  for  two  years  were  in 
a  state  of  feverish  excitement,  setting  aside  every  thought 
or  deed  that  did  not  refer  to  the  independence  and  liberty 
of  Italy. 

The  agitation  in  Piedmont  increased  daily.  It  was  clear 
that  the  mystic  and  religious  king  was  strongly  attracted 
towards  the  head  of  the  Church,  and  sooner  or  later  would 
follow  his  example.  In  1846  Charles  Albert  took  the 
decisive  step  of  dismissing  La  Margherita.  Notwith- 
standing the  marked  coldness  with  which  the  king 
had  treated  him,  he  clung  to  power  as  long  as  possible, 
in  order,  as  he  said,  to  attenuate  the  consequences  of  the 
Liberal  tendencies  of  the  sovereign,  and  to  save  monarchy 
and  country  from  the  catastrophe  which  would  inevitably 


46        AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A    VETERAN 

follow  the  proclamation  of  a  constitution.  A  few  among 
the  old  nobles  shared  his  opinions,  but  nearly  the  whole 
army,  and  the  men  of  middle  age  about  the  Court,  were  as 
keen  for  Liberal  institutions  as  the  younger  generation. 

In  November  1846  the  death  of  my  dear  father  pre- 
vented my  accompanying  the  Court  to  Genoa.  As  soon 
as  the  king  left  on  his  return  to  Turin,  the  Genoese 
celebrated  the  centenary  of  the  expulsion  of  the  Austrians 
with  illuminations  and  singing  patriotic  songs.  A  few 
years  previously  this  would  not  have  been  allowed,  but 
the  train  was  laid,  and  the  spark  from  Rome  soon  set  the 
Sardinian  realm  ablaze.  Liberal  ideas  were  in  the  air, 
and  the  scientific  congresses  and  agrarian  societies  con- 
tributed largely  to  their  diffusion. 

Over  two  thousand  scientific  men  attended  the  con- 
gress at  Genoa  in  1 846.  Laurence  Pareto  was  the  president, 
and  the  Marquis  Brignole-Sale  came  from  Paris,  where  he 
was  Sardinian  ambassador,  to  do  the  honours  of  his  fine 
palace  and  magnificent  galleries.  In  all  the  meetings, 
patriotism,  independence  and  liberty  were  more  talked  of 
than  science.  The  meeting  of  the  Agrarian  Society  at 
Casale  in  1847  ^^.s  so  enthusiastically  patriotic  that  the 
president  reported  it  to  Turin  as  seditious.  But  the 
private  secretary  of  the  king  gave  a  different  version,  and 
Charles  Albert's  reply  was  read  to  the  assembled  members 
amid  frantic  applause.^ 

When  I  remember  what  times  those  were,  and  that 
this  letter  was  read  to  men  from  divers  Italian  States,  its 

^  I  give  a  few  extracts  from  the  king's  letter  which  has  been  printed  in  his 
biographies : — 

'  MoN  TRfes  CHER  DE  Castagnetto, —  .  .  .  Votre  lettre  contient  des 
details  qui  m'interessent  infiniment.  Si  je  vous  ecrivais  au  long,  je  ne  pourrais 
que  vous  repeter  ce  que  je  vous  ai  dit  a  Racconis  k  I'egard  des  sentiments  et 
des  vues  qu'il  faut  exprimer  pour  le  pr&ent  et  pour  I'avenir.  Ajoutez  seule- 
ment  que  si  jamais  Dieu  nous  faisait  la  grace  de  pouvoir  entreprendre  une 
guerre  d'ind^pendance,  ce  serait  moi  seul  qui  commanderai  I'armee,  resolu  k 


CHARLES  ALBERT  GRANTS  REFORMS    47 

very  audacity  convinces  me  that  for  years  the  king  had 
cherished  the  idea  of  liberating  Italy  from  a  foreign  yoke. 
I  consider  this  was  the  first  step  taken  towards  action,  the 
independence  of  Italy  ceased  to  be  a  dream,  and  hundreds, 
nay  thousands,  were  ready  to  aid  in  its  realisation. 

On  the  30th  October,  Charles  Albert  granted  reforms 
which  were  hailed  with  gratitude  and  joy.  A  few  days 
later  he  left  Turin  for  his  usual  visit  to  Genoa  amid  the 
acclamations  of  the  people,  and  on  passing  through  Asti 
the  crowd  round  the  carriage  was  so  great  that,  only  just 
recovered  from  a  serious  illness,  the  king  fainted.  At 
Alessandria,  where  he  passed  the  night,  and  at  Genoa  the 
enthusiasm  was  indescribable,  save  on  one  Sunday,  when 
a  significative  demonstration  took  place.  On  leaving  the 
palace  to  go  to  mass,  the  king  was,  as  usual,  cheered 
vociferously,  until  the  people  saw  that,  he  was  bound  for 
the  church  of  the  Jesuits,  when  all  cheering  ceased.  A  cold 
and  silent  crowd  awaited  his  exit,  and  cries  of  ^Down  with 
the  Jesuits  ! '    'Long  live  the  National  Guard  I '  were  heard. 

Triumphal  arches  and  addresses  were  prepared  at 
Turin  for  his  return ;  but  Charles  Albert,  who  was  very  ill, 
drove  straight  to  the  palace  without  even  showing  his  face 
at  the  carriage  windows.  After  resting,  he  was  able  to 
appear  on  the  balcony  and  receive  a  fresh  ovation  from 
the  crowd. 

It  has  been  said  the  king  traversed  the  city  without 
stopping  to  hear  addresses,  because  he  had  been  informed 
that  paid  agents  intended  to  raise  the  cries  of  'Down  with 

faire  pour  la  cause  guelphe  ce  que  Schamil  fait  centre  Timinense  empire 
russe.  .  .  . 

* .  .  .  Les  autrichiens  ont  donn^  un  m^moire  aux  puissances  pour  chercher 
4  faire  croire  qu'ils  ont  le  droit  pour  eux,  et  ils  ont  declare  qu'ils  resteraient  en 
possession  de  Ferrare,  et  que  d'autre  part  ils  interviendraient  dans  le  pays  ou 
ils  le  croiraient  n^cessaire  pour  le  int^ret.  ... 

' .  .  .  Ah  !  le  beau  jour  que  celui  ou  nous  pourrons  jeter  le  cri  de  I'ind^- 
pendance  nationale  ! 

'  Turin,  U  3  Septembre  1847. 


48        AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A    VETERAN 

Reform  ! '  and  '■Long  live  the  Republic  ! '  But  no  one  about 
the  Court  ever  heard  of  this  or  of  the  scene  between  him 
and  the  queen  before  their  departure  for  Genoa,  when  she 
is  reported  to  have  thrown  herself  at  his  feet,  begging  him 
not  to  go  for  fear  of  being  assassinated.  This  is  abso- 
lutely incredible  to  anyone  who  knew  the  queen.  In  the 
latter  years  she  only  approached  the  king  with  fear  and 
trembling,  without  daring  to  speak. 

In  October   1847,  Maria  Pia,  Princess  of  Savoy,  was 
r      born,  who  afterwards  married  the  King  of  Portugal.     Her 
godfather  was  Pope   Pius  IX.,  who  soon  afterwards  sent 
the  traditional  golden  rose  to  her  mother  the  Duchess. 


CHAPTER    VI 

1848 

Genoese  Deputation — Cavour  as  Editor  of  the  Risorgimento — Duke  of  Savoy 
disguised  among  the  Mob — Baron  La  Tour — Charles  Albert  grants  the 
Constitution — Carnival  Time  in  Turin — Revolution  in  Paris  and  Vienna, 
the  '  Five  Days '  of  Milan  and  the  Rising  in  Venice — War  is  declared — 
I  am  named  Colonel  and  Chief  of  the  Staff  to  Victor  Emanuel  —  The 
King  takes  Command  of  the  Army — The  Austrians  retire  towards  the 
Adige — An  attempt  to  besiege  Peschiera  —  Pastrengo  —  The  Austrians 
retreat  on  Verona — Battle  of  Santa  Lucia — We  retreat. 

1848 !  These  four  figures  call  up  a  host  of  fervent  desires, 
hopes,  anxieties,  and  joys,  followed  by  cruel  disillusions 
and  bitter  sorrow.  It  is  impossible  for  me,  a  spectator — 
often  an  actor — in  the  great  drama  which  even  now,  after 
forty-five  years,  agitates  my  very  heart,  to  speak  with  the 
serenity  of  one  who  only  knows  the  facts  from  books  or 
by  hearsay.  I  fear  being  carried  away ;  of  being,  perhaps, 
even  unjust  in  recounting  what  I  have  seen  and  heard. 
Our  misfortunes  and  sufferings  have  not  been  in  vain ;  one 
man  was  the  victim  and  martyr,  and  we,  the  survivors, 
have  reaped  the  benefit.  Still,  time  has  not  lessened  the 
indignation  I  felt  against  those  who  denied  the  valour  of 
the  small  Piedmontese  army,  and  dared  to  call  its  leaders 
traitors.  If  treachery  there  was,  it  existed  among  those 
who  promised  so  much,  and,  when  the  first  enthusiasm 
was  over,  did  little  or  nothing. 

In  the  beginning  of  January  a  Genoese  deputation 
came  to  Turin  to  consult  with  the  heads  of  the  Liberal 
party  and  the  leading  newspaper  editors.  Among 
the  latter  was  Cavour.  They  intended  respectfully  to 
demand  the  king  to  order  the  expulsion  of  the  Jesuits, 

D 


50        AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A    VETERAN 

and  the  institution  of  the  National  Guard.  The  members 
were  lodged  at  the  Hotel  d'Europe,  exactly  opposite  the 
royal  palace,  so  their  advent  and  the  visits  they  received 
from  the  recognised  leaders  of  the  Liberal  party  could  not 
be  ignored.  The  king  was,  of  course,  informed  of  all  that 
passed,  generally  by  men  hostile  to  new  ideas  and  to  all 
public  and  private  demonstrations.  Irritated  and  annoyed, 
he  refused  to  receive  the  deputation,  alleging  its  illegality, 
and  sent  orders,  through  the  police,  that  it  was  to  return 
immediately  to  Genoa.  On  the  7th  July  the  Genoese  left, 
but,  under  pretence  of  assisting  at  the  Carnival  festivities, 
many  provincial  notabilities  came  to  Turin.  Everything 
said  in  the  small  parliament  of  journalists,  of  which  Cavour 
was  the  leading  spirit — and  much  that  was  not  said — was 
immediately  repeated  all  over  the  town.  The  editor^  of 
the  Risorginiento  at  once  took  a  leading  position  and  dis- 
played extraordinary  activity.  Besides  articles  in  his  own 
paper,  he  wrote  reviews  in  French  and  Genoese  magazines, 
preparing  the  way  for  the  redemption  of  Italy  to  be 
accomplished  by  the  Piedmontese  and,  above  all,  by  him- 
self Then  came  tidings  of  the  rebellion  of  Sicily  against 
her  Neapolitan  rulers,  of  violent  demonstrations  in  Naples 
itself,  and  of  the  change  of  ministry,  followed,  like  a 
thunder-clap,  by  the  incredible  news  that  the  King  of 
Naples,  the  most  autocratic  of  sovereigns,  had  granted  the 
Constitution.  A  few  days  later  it  was  rumoured  that  his 
example  had  been  followed  by  Leopold  II.  of  Tuscany. 
The  agitation  in  Piedmont  increased.  People  no  longer 
demanded  reforms — the  expulsion  of  the  Jesuits — the  insti- 
tution of  the  National  Guard — but  the  Constitution,  enjoyed 
by  France  for  many  years — the  Constitution,  just  granted 
by  Francis  and  Leopold  to  their  subjects. 

The  Duke  of  Savoy,  wanting  to  hear  and  see  for  him- 
self, went  out  at  night,  dressed  like  a  well-to-do  farmer,  in  a 
^  Cavour. — Translator's  Note. 


NOCTURNAL  EXCURSIONS  51 

big  cloak,  with  a  slouch  hat  drawn  over  his  eyes,  and  mixed 
with  the  crowd.  He  wished  to  go  alone,  but  I  always 
kept  near  him,  afraid,  not  of  his  being  hurt,  as  he  was 
popular,  but  that  some  expression  of  public  sympathy 
might  get  him  into  trouble.  One  night,  also  in  disguise, 
I  was  in  the  crowd  behind  Victor  Emanuel,  listening  to  a 
group  of  men  who  were  talking  vehemently,  when  I  was 
violently  pushed.  I  was  about  to  retaliate,  when  the  man 
approached  and  whispered,  '  I  am  Alexander  La  Marmora. 
Look  out,  you  are  known.'  Warning  the  duke,  we  quietly 
withdrew.  The  police  were  aware  of  our  nocturnal 
excursions,  as  I  found  out  from  the  old  marshal.  Baron 
La  Tour,  governor  of  Turin,  to  whom  the  duke  often  sent 
me  with  messages.  Fearing  lest  my  frequent  visits  to 
the  governor's  palace  should  attract  the  attention  of  the 
idlers  always  stationed  in  Piazza  San  Carlo,  the  baron 
told  me  to  enter  by  the  small  door  in  a  back  street,  which 
led  to  the  apartments  of  his  son.  I  remember,  as  though  it 
had  occurred  yesterday,  the  conversation  between  us  one 
February  morning  after  the  baron  returned  from  his  daily 
visit  to  the  palace.  Seated  in  an  armchair,  and  caressing 
his  beloved  snuff-box,  he  said  the  king  was  constantly  being 
entreated  to  grant  larger  concessions  and  political  reforms. 
'  They  want  the  Constitution,'  said  His  Majesty  to  me, 
'  and  I  will  never  grant  it'  Stopping  to  take  a  pinch  of 
snuff,  the  old  marshal  continued,  *  You  understand  ?  the 
king  said  he  will  not  grant  the  Constitution.  Well  then 
he  will,  and  very  soon.'  The  baron  was  right.  On  the 
morning  of  the  8th  February,  Turin  awoke  to  the  news 
that  the  king  had  granted  the  Constitution.  Charles 
Albert  must  have  had  a  bitter  struggle.  He  was  inti- 
mately convinced  that  his  people  were,  as  yet,  unfit  for 
liberty,  and  he  meditated  a  war  with  Austria,  for  the  con- 
duct of  which  he  considered  the  absolute  independence  of 
the  sovereign  was  necessary.     He  was  tormented  by  the 


52        A  UTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A    VETERAN 

recollection  of  his  promise  made  at  Paris  through  the 
Sardinian  ambassador  to  the  Emperor  of  Austria,  that  if 
his  succession  to  the  throne  was  unopposed,  no  essential 
changes  should  be  made  in  the  institutions  which  had 
endured  for  eight  hundred  years.  On  this  latter  point 
the  Archbishop  of  Vercelli  succeeded  in  calming  his  con- 
science. Charles  Albert  gave  the  Constitution  unwillingly, 
and  against  his  own  convictions,  to  please  his  subjects, 
but,  unlike  the  Bourbons  of  Naples,  with  the  resolve  to 
keep  his  word. 

The  Constitution,  announced  on  the  8th  February,  was 
promulgated  on  the  4th  March,  Those  twenty-five  days 
were  passed  in  demonstrations  of  rejoicing — Te  Deums  in 
the  churches,  and  processions.  It  was  Carnival  time,  so 
Piazza  Castello  was  crowded  with  masqueraders  and  sight- 
seers from  other  parts  of  Italy.  Many  were  dressed  a 
I'ltalien,  which  at  first  looked  like  fancy  dress.  The 
ladies  wore  a  long  riding  habit  of  black  velvet  looped  up 
over  a  tricolour  silk  skirt,  or  a  short  velvet  dress,  with  a 
tricolour  scarf,  and  all  had  high  calabrese  hats,  with  white, 
red,  and  green  feathers  and  ribbons.  The  men  had  shoot- 
ing jackets  and  breeches  of  black  velvet  and  tricolour  waist 
scarfs,  and  their  calabrese  hats  were  decorated  with  tri- 
colour braid  and  tassels.  While  we  were  singing,  mak- 
ing speeches  and  walking  in  processions,  grave  events 
were  happening  in  France  and  preparing  in  Austria.  A 
fresh  revolution  had  burst  out  in  Paris  ;  the  Orleans  had  fled, 
and  the  Republic  was  proclaimed.  The  poet  Lamartine, 
President  of  the  Republic,  could  not  understand  that  the 
sons  of  the  terre  des  inorts  had  resuscitated,  and  the  idea 
that  Piedmont  might  expand  into  a  powerful  Italian  state 
did  not  please  French  political  men. 

It  was  clear  that,  in  the  event  of  a  war  with  Austria, 
we  had  nothing  to  hope  from  France.  But  in  the  first 
flush  of  enthusiasm   that  seemed  of  no  account.     'What 


PROMULGATION  OF  THE  CONSTITUTION     53 

care  we  for  allies  ?  Italy  will  act  by  herself! '  ('  ritaliafard 
da  se'\  was  the  cry.  A  few  days  later  Charles  Albert 
repeated  in  public,  '  T Italia  fara  da  se! 

There  was  some  justification  for  this.  Deputations 
came  daily  from  central  and  southern  Italy  of  leading 
men  and  of  amnestied  political  prisoners,  who  had  suffered 
for  the  Italian  cause,  to  implore  aid  from  the  Piedmontese 
army,  promising  the  support  of  all  their  fellow-citizens. 
Not  only  the  king,  but  all  we  young  officers,  shared  the 
illusions  of  the  populace,  and  the  streets  resounded  with 
patriotic  songs.  The  excitement  increased  when  the  revolu- 
tion burst  out  in  Vienna,  followed  by  the  famous  '  five 
days'  of  Milan  and  the  rising  in  Venice.  A  Lombard 
deputation  arrived  to  entreat  the  king's  help  to  turn  the 
Austrians,  not  out  of  Milan — that  was  done — but  out  of  the 
Quadrilateral.  Charles  Albert  promised  his  aid,  and  im- 
mediately ordered  the  troops  nearest  the  frontier  (the 
brigade  Piedmont,  and  the  Pinerolo  and  Piedmont  cavalry 
regiments,  with  the  ist  field  battery,  about  four  thousand 
men  in  all)  to  cross  the  Ticino  and  march  to  Milan.  At 
the  same  time,  the  whole  army  was  to  be  placed  on  a 
war  footing. 

After  the  promulgation  of  the  Constitution  the  ministry 
resigned.  Sclopis,  failing  to  form  a  new  one,  the  king 
called  Cesare  Balbo,  requesting  him  to  give  a  portfolio 
to  the  Genoese,  Laurence  Pareto.  The  new  ministry 
assumed  office  on  the  i6th  March,  and  the  duty  fell  to 
Franzini  general  of  the  staff,  as  Minister  of  War,  to 
organise  the  army  for  active  service. 

The  task  was  an  arduous  one.  Since  181 5  there  had 
been  peace,  and  during  the  ten  years'  reign  of  Charles 
Felix  military  discipline  had  been  neglected.  Charles 
Albert  had  to  reform  everything.  The  Camps  of  Instruc- 
tion, instituted  by  him,  and  which  were  held  nearly  every 
year  from    1833   to    1847,   had    imparted   some   practical 


54        AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A    VETERAN 

knowledge,  especially  as  to  the  combined   action  of  the 
various  arms. 

In  a  few  days  Franzini  succeeded  in  placing  twenty-five 
thousand  disciplined  troops  on  a  war  footing,  to  be  joined 
by  twenty  thousand  provincials/  thus  bringing  the  army 
up  to  forty-five  thousand  men.  With  the  announced  sup- 
port of  the  whole  Lombard  population,  and  the  Roman, 
Tuscan  and  Neapolitan  troops  promised  by  their  respective 
sovereigns  before  our  departure,  we  calculated  on  having 
over  a  hundred  thousand  men,  and,  like  Bonaparte  in 
1797,  imagined  ourselves  already  near  the  gates  of  Vienna. 
Such  were  the  brilliant  illusions,  too  soon,  alas !  to  be 
dispelled. 

Franzini,  who  had  known  me  for  some  time  and 
honoured  me  with  his  esteem,  named  me  colonel,  and 
chose  me  as  chief  of  the  staff  of  the  reserve  division,  to 
be  commanded  by  the  Duke  of  Savoy.  I  was  ordered  to 
leave  at  once  for  Casale  to  organise  it. 

The  division  of  the  Duke  of  Savoy  was  composed  of — 
1.$-^.  The  brigade  of  Grenadier  Guards,  the  first   and 
finest  in  the  army;  and  the  Sardinian  Sharp- 
shooters, under  the  command  of  General  Count 
Biscaretti. 
2d.  The    brigade     Cuneo,    commanded    by    General 

d'Aviernoz. 
3<^.  The  regiment  of  Aosta  cavalry,  in  which  my 
brother  Frederick  was  captain,  commanded  by 
Colonel  Castelborgo,  which  was  substituted  by 
that  of  Genoa  when  we  arrived  at  Piadena. 
^th.  Four  battalions  of  Bersaglieri,  a  detachment  of 
engineers,  and  three  batteries  of  artillery  under 
Major  Alphonse  La  Marmora,  besides  ambul- 
ances, commissariat,  etc.,  etc. 

^  Reserves  formed  of  soldiers  discharged  before  finishing  their  time  with 
the  colours  (eight  years),  and  allowed  to  marry. 


CHARLES  ALBERT  COMMANDS  ARMY    55 

As  I  am  not  writing  a  history  of  the  campaign,  I  shall 
only  jot  down  from  memory,  aided  by  my  notes,  the  part 
played  by  the  reserve.  On  the  24th  March  the  king,  with 
the  Duke  of  Savoy,  left  Turin  for  Alessandria  to  take 
command  of  the  troops  assembled  there.  As  soon  as  our 
division  was  ready  at  Casale  the  duke  joined  us,  and  we 
left  to  meet  the  king  on  the  road  to  Pavia.  Before 
entering  the  town,  tricolour  cocardes  and  flags  were 
distributed  to  the  men.  From  a  sentiment  of  delicacy 
Charles  Albert  ordered  them  to  be  substituted  for  the 
blue  of  the  House  of  Savoy,  as  once  the  Ticino  was 
crossed  war  and  army  became  Italian. 

The  entry  of  the  king  into  Pavia  on  the  29th  March, 
at  the  head  of  some  twenty  thousand  men,  roused  extra- 
ordinary enthusiasm,  and  the  city  was  decked  with  the 
Italian  colours.  The  townspeople  were  unanimous  in 
desiring  to  drive  the  Austrians  out  of  Italy.  Not  so  the 
villagers  and  peasants,  generally  Conservatives,  and  afraid 
lest  the  passage  of  troops  and  a  change  of  government  would 
only  bring  requisitions  and  fresh  taxes.  We  had  proof  of 
this  at  Borghetto,  our  first  halting-place.  Resenting  our 
camping  in  their  fields,  the  peasants  prepared  to  open  the 
sluices  of  the  canals  to  flood  the  country.  I  sent  for  the 
syndic,  and  finding  my  appeal  to  the  sentiment  of  Italian 
brotherhood,  proclaimed  by  Lombardy,  useless,  threatened 
to  burn  the  village  if  my  men  were  not  allowed  to  sleep  in 
peace  on  dry  land. 

From  Borghetto  we  went  to  Cremona,  where  the  king 
had  established  his  headquarters.  Most  of  the  generals 
had  arrived,  and  the  more  distant  garrisons  of  Nice,  Savoy 
and  Genoa,  with  many  of  the  provincial  regiments,  were 
continually  coming  in.  A  council  was  held,  and  the 
formation  of  the  army  into  two  corps,  divided  into  five 
divisions,  was  decreed.  The  ist  corps,  under  General 
Eusebius     Bava,     consisted    of    two    divisions;    the    2d 


56        AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A    VETERAN 

also  of  two  divisions,  was  commanded  by  General  Hector 
de  Sonnaz  ;  and  the  5th  formed  the  reserve  under  the 
Duke  of  Savoy.  The  Duke  of  Genova  commanded  the 
artillery,  and  supreme  head  of  the  army  was  the  king. 
General  Salasco,  the  chief  of  the  staff  and  his  deputy, 
Colonel  Cassato,  were  disciplinarians,  cultured,  and  honest, 
but  wanting  in  initiative  and  military  tuition.  The  Min- 
ister of  War,  Franzini,  who  accompanied  the  army,  was, 
from  a  military  point  of  view,  the  better  man  of  the  three, 
but  he  had  no  command,  and  only  a  consulting  vote. 

The  choice  of  Salasco  as  chief  of  the  staff  was  a  grave 
mistake.  He  ought  never  to  have  accepted  a  post  of  such 
responsibility,  for  which  he  was  unfit.  He  lacked  the 
authority  which  it  was  his  duty  to  exert ;  under  him  every- 
one wanted  to  give  orders,  and  that  unity  of  command,  so 
indispensable  to  an  army,  did  not  exist  with  us  in  1848. 

It  was  natural  that  Charles  Albert,  who  risked  every- 
thing in  the  cause  of  independence,  should  wish  to  accom- 
pany the  army.  But  either  his  chief  of  the  staff  should 
have  been  enterprising,  intelligent,  and  highly  educated, 
with  an  ascendancy  over  the  sovereign  such  as  Berthier 
possessed  in  the  first  wars  of  Napoleon,  or  the  command 
should  have  been  entrusted  to  an  experienced  general  who 
had  the  practice  and  knowledge  of  military  matters.  Bava, 
De  Sonnaz,  Franzini,  and  perhaps  Bes,  might  have  been 
capable  of  so  great  an  enterprise. 

The  Duke  of  Savoy  was  impatient  to  enter  the  field,  but 
rather  as  a  common  soldier  than  a  commander.  Cour- 
ageous, like  all  his  race,  he  would  have  enjoyed  rushing 
into  the  thick  of  the  fight,  and  charging  the  enemy  with 
his  lance  at  rest,  like  a  knight  of  old.  Without  much 
instruction  or  knowledge  of  military  matters,  he  had 
excellent  common  sense,  listened  to  advice,  and  followed 
it  when  he  saw  it  was  good. 

The  Duke  of  Genova  was  said  to  be  better  informed 


THE  A  USTRIANS  RETREA  T  57 

than  his  brother;  he  was  certainly  more  thoughtful  and  less 
expansive,  but  equally  courageous. 

We  continued  our  march  towards  the  Mincio,  between 
which  and  the  river  Chiese  the  Austrians  were  strongly 
entrenched.  They  however  fell  back,  and  our  advanced 
guard  soon  came  within  touch  of  them.  At  Cremona  it 
had  been  decided  to  attempt  the  passage  of  the  Mincio 
and  advance  on  Mantua,  so  the  king  went  towards 
Piadena  and  Macaria.  An  Austrian  reconnaissance  from 
the  fortress  caught  a  small  detachment  of  our  cavalry 
asleep  in  a  dairy  farm,  and  took  them  prisoners  to  Mantua. 
The  officers  were  in  despair  at  this  first  check,  but 
had  their  revenge  at  the  Bridge  of  Goito  on  the  8th  and 
nth  April.  Only  the  ist  and  2d  corps  were  engaged; 
the  reserve  was  not  called  up.  The  Marquis  Ceva  had 
been  despatched  from  headquarters  to  inform  the  Duke  of 
Savoy  of  the  affair,  and  when  we  were  between  Castel- 
goffredo  and  Castiglione  delle  Stiviere,  Ceva  arrived  at 
full  gallop,  pulling  up  short  on  seeing  the  duke.  Too 
excited  and  out  of  breath  to  speak,  he  opened  and  shut 
his  mouth  like  a  fish  out  of  water,  without  producing  a 
sound.  At  last  he  gasped,  *  A  i  soun,  Altessa,  a  i  soun  ! '  ^ 
The  Bersaglieri  especially  distinguished  themselves  by  pur- 
suing the  enemy  across  the  ruins  of  the  bridge,  and  their 
commander,  Alexander  La  Marmora,  had  his  jaw  fractured. 

The  Austrians,  driven  out  of  Goito  and  Valeggio, 
retired  towards  the  Adige,  and  our  troops  occupied  Mon- 
zambano  and  Borghetto.  The  king  established  his  head- 
quarters at  Volta,  whence  he  attempted  to  attack  Peschiera 
on  the  13th  April.  He  had  been  informed  that  there  was 
only  a  small  body  of  troops,  with  many  Italians  among 
them  anxious  to  join  their  brethren.  The  fortress,  on 
the  contrary,  was  strongly  garrisoned  chiefly  by  Croats. 
After  bombarding  the  place  for  a  whole  day  the  king  saw 
' '  They  are  there,  your  Highness,  they  are  there.' 


UNIVERSITY 


58        AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A    VETERAN 

that,  without  the  siege  train  which  had  been  left  in  Ales- 
sandria, nothing  could  be  done.  Alphonse  La  Marmora, 
one  of  the  chief  partisans  of  this  attack  on  Peschiera,  and 
who  had  persuaded  the  Duke  of  Genoa  to  suggest  it  to  the 
king,  offered  to  treat  for  the  capitulation  of  the  fortress. 
Astounded  at  such  audacity,  the  commander  refused  to 
receive  him ;  so  the  king  sent  Major  Cavalli  to  Ales- 
sandria to  fetch  the  siege  train,  and  retired,  leaving 
Federici's  division  to  prepare  the  earth  works. 

From  Castiglioni  delle  Stiviere  we  had  meanwhile 
marched  to  Cavriana,  where  we  remained  for  nearly  a 
fortnight,  and  whence  the  duke  went  to  visit  his  father 
at  Peschiera.  Soon  afterwards  the  king  transferred  his 
quarters  to  Monzambano,  the  duke  went  with  the  Gren- 
adiers to  Valeggio,  while  the  Cuneo  brigade  remained 
at  Volta.  On  the  29th  we  heard  cannon  in  the  direction 
of  Santa  Giustina,  whither  the  king  had  gone  in  the  morn- 
ing. In  the  distance  I  saw  moving  masses,  but  could 
distinguish  nothing ;  so,  setting  spurs  to  my  horse,  galloped 
up  a  winding  path,  cut  so  deeply  in  the  hillside  that  I  could 
not  see  to  the  right  or  left.  Finding  that  I  was  approach- 
ing within  gunshot  of  the  enemy,  and  from  one  moment 
to  another  might  be  seen,  I  urged  my  horse  up  the  steep 
bank,  whence,  plunging  into  the  wood,  I  returned  to 
Valeggio  to  give  the  alarm.  The  Austrians,  however,  did 
not  attack  us,  and  we  were  not  summoned  to  support  the 
other  division.  In  the  evening  we  learned  that  the  enemy 
had  been  driven  back  to  Pastrengo,  whence  Charles  Albert 
determined  to  dislodge  them  on  the  following  day. 

The  king's  object  in  taking  the  offensive  was  to  drive 
the  enemy  away  from  Peschiera,  which  he  was  about  to 
besiege,  and  to  open  the  road  to  Verona.  Emissaries  of  a 
patriotic  committee,  who  afterwards  paid  dearly  for  put- 
ting themselves  into  communication  with  him,  were  daily 
appealing  for  help.     The  population,  they  declared,  was 


THE  POPE  CHANGES  HIS  MIND  59 

ready  to  rise  and  drive  the  Austrians  out,  as  the  Milanese 
had  done,  if  the  army  would  support  them.  These 
repeated  assurances,  at  first  only  listened  to  by  the  king, 
in  the  end  convinced  Franzini  and  Bava,  and  on  them 
were  based  the  military  operations  of  the  end  of  April 
and  the  beginning  of  May. 

In  April  large  reinforcements  reached  us.  Immediately 
after  driving  out  their  princes,  Parma  and  Modena  declared 
in  favour  of  a  great  northern  kingdom  of  Italy,  and  des- 
patched troops  to  join  us.  Those  promised  by  Tuscany, 
Rome  and  Naples  also  came  in,  so  that,  with  the  con- 
tingent of  provincials,  about  fifty  thousand  men  were  added 
to  the  fifty  thousand  we  already  had  on  the  Mincio.  The 
companies,  consisting  of  one  hundred  or  one  hundred  and 
fifty  men,  were  raised  to  two  hundred  and  fifty,  a  thing 
never  seen  before  or  since.  Several  provincial  regiments 
were  in  the  affair  at  the  Bridge  of  Goito,  and,  although  all 
married  men  with  families,  had  fought  well,  and  were 
obedient  to  discipline.  For  the  moment  the  Italian  army 
was  superior  in  number  to  the  Austrian ;  but  the  half 
beyond  the  Po  included  many  volunteers — men  who  knew 
nothing  of  warfare,  and  hindered  us  more  than  they 
helped.  Before  we  could  discipline  them,  they  disbanded 
and  vanished,  while  the  Romans  were  recalled  by  the 
Pope,  and  the  Neapolitans  by  King  Francis.  The  Pope, 
the  initiator  of  the  revolution,  who  two  months  before  had 
blessed  the  troops,  changed  his  mind,  and,  in  an  allocution 
of  the  29th  April,  sounded  the  note  of  alarm  which  caused 
the  recall  of  the  Romans,  and  soon  afterwards  of  the 
Neapolitans. 

All  this  we,  of  course,  did  not  know  in  the  latter  days 
of  April ;  and  men  from  Piedmont,  Lombardy,  Parma  and 
Modena  fought  bravely  side  by  side  on  the  28th  and  29th 
at  Colk,  Sandri  and  Santa  Giustina,  and  on  the  30th  at 
Pastrengo. 


6o        AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A    VETERAN 

The  engagement  at  Pastrengo  only  began  towards 
eleven,  either  because  Charles  Albert,  in  the  fervour 
of  his  religious  mysticism,  insisted  on  first  praying  and 
hearing  mass,  or  that  De  Sonnaz,  who  had  only  just  been 
put  in  command,  had  not  had  time  to  prepare  things 
before.     Five  hours  later  the  heights  were  ours. 

The  command  of  the  Duke  of  Savoy  was  divided,  the 
brigade  of  Guards  being  on  the  right,  the  Cuneo  brigade  in 
the  centre ;  De  Sonnaz's  divisions  were  on  the  left  and  also 
in  the  centre.  Officers  and  men  scrambled  impetuously  up 
the  steep  hill,  the  top  of  which  was  fortified  and  occupied 
by  the  Austrians.  I  have  seen  many  skirmishes  and  battles 
since  then,  but  the  ardour,  the  enthusiasm,  displayed  in  the 
first  days  of  the  campaign  of  '48,  I  never  saw  again.  The 
Piedmontese  and  the  other  Italians,  who  daily  joined  the 
regular  army,  presented  the  moving  spectacle  of  a  whole 
people  rising  to  drive  the  stranger  out  of  their  country. 

While  the  combat  was  raging  on  the  steeps  of  Pastrengo, 
I  perceived  that,  by  advancing  on  our  right  from  Verona, 
the  enemy  might  strike  us  on  the  flank.  The  danger  had 
not  been  foreseen,  and  points  of  defence  had  been  left  un- 
manned. Communicating  my  fears  to  the  duke,  I  asked 
permission  to  go  and  reconnoitre.  With  full  powers  to 
make  all  necessary  dispositions,  I  took  Lieutenant  Avet 
of  the  staff  with  me,  and  galloped  towards  Santa  Giustina. 
From  the  strong  battery  posted  there,  I  saw  through  my 
field-glasses  several  columns  of  the  enemy's  infantry  leav- 
ing Verona  for  the  Osteria  del  Bosco,  on  the  Peschiera 
road,  at  the  foot  of  the  Sona  Hills — a  position  that  had 
been  almost  denuded  of  troops  that  very  morning  to 
reinforce  the  attack  on  Pastrengo.  I  immediately  ordered 
the  artillery  to  fire  on  the  advancing  columns,  which  was 
done  with  excellent  results.  Meanwhile  I  despatched 
Avet  to  Sona  to  ask  General  Sommariva,  commanding 
the  Aosta  brigade,  to  send  down  part  of  his  men  on  to 


BATTLE  OF  PASTRENGO  6i 

the  Verona- Peschiera  road,  to  oppose  the  enemy's  advance. 
Before  arriving  at  the  Osteria  del  Bosco,  the  broad  and 
straight  causeway  is  cut  through  a  hill,  and  has  steep 
banks  on  either  side.  Just  there,  whence  nothing  could 
be  seen,  I  found  the  brigade  of  cavalry  commanded  by 
Major-General  Sala  awaiting  orders,  which  never  came. 
I  warned  him  of  the  enemy's  approach,  and  of  the  necessity 
of  preventing  it,  to  which  he  objected  his  lack  of  infantry, 
there  only  being  sixty  grenadiers  near  by,  sent  to  bring  in 
supplies,  under  Lieutenant  Villafalletto.  The  latter,  fully 
alive  to  the  danger,  had  disposed  his  men  in  skirmishing 
order,  ready  to  support  the  cavalry  or  the  nearest  battery. 
I  advised  Sala  to  dismount  a  certain  number  of  his  cavalry 
in  order  to  strengthen  the  defence.  The  general  acceded 
to  this,  and  soon  afterwards,  seeing  part  of  the  Aosta 
brigade  coming  down  the  hill,  I  returned  to  Pastrengo  to 
tranquillise  the  duke,  and  take  part  in  the  last  exciting 
moments  of  the  engagement. 

Although  the  Austrians  were  in  great  force,  and  had 
the  advantage  of  a  dominating  position,  they  were  rapidly 
driven  down  towards  the  Adige,  which  they  crossed  on 
pontoons,  with  the  fear,  naturally,  of  being  pursued  by  us. 
But  the  elementary  rule  that  a  victory  should  always  be  fol- 
lowed up  was  neglected.  The  order  to  cease  the  pursuit  was 
given  too  soon,  and  this  grave  mistake  was  repeated  many 
times  during  the  campaign,  to  the  despair  of  the  officers. 

Finding  the  road  under  the  Sona  barred,  and  probably 
informed  of  the  defeat  of  Pastrengo,  the  Austrians  retreated 
again  into  Verona. 

During  the  battle  Charles  Albert  rode  from  place  to 
place  with  a  small  suite,  chiefly  composed  of  non-com- 
batants, such  as  the  Lombard  envoys  and  the  representa- 
tives of  various  cities.  Suddenly  meeting  a  company  of 
Tyrolese,  Sanfront,  the  colonel  commanding  the  escort  of 
carabineers,  gave    the    order    to    charge,   when    Charles 


62         AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A    VETERAN 

Albert  drew  his  sword,  and  dashing  forward  with  the 
men  drove  the  enemy  up  the  hill. 

After  the  battle  our  army  encamped  between  Sandra 
and  Santa  Giustina,  the  king  and  the  Duke  of  Savoy 
establishing  their  headquarters  at  the  latter  place.  In 
the  evening  there  was  a  slight  altercation  between  the 
duke  and  Alphonse  La  Marmora,  who  was  so  convinced 
of  his  own  superior  knowledge  that,  instead  of  obeying 
orders,  he  generally  went  his  own  way.  The  Duke  of 
Genova's  admiration  and  high  opinion  of  La  Marmora  was 
not  shared  by  Victor  Emanuel,  who,  using  a  Piedmontese 
phrase,  called  him  a  venditore  di  vasetti  (seller  of  pots), 
meaning  a  man  who  knows  how  to  cry  up  his  own  wares. 
He  esteemed  La  Marmora's  high  sense  of  honour,  and 
made  use  of  him  when  necessary,  as  he  was  popular, 
determined,  and  not  afraid  of  responsibility.  But  Victor 
Emanuel  never  liked  him,  and  resented  his  superior 
manners.^ 

In  the  first  days  of  the  campaign  we  were  often  on 
short  rations,  not  entirely  from  the  fault  of  the  contractors, 
but  from  the  peculiar  conditions  in  which  we  were  placed. 
It  was  impossible  for  us  to  behave  as  conquerors  to 
our  allies  and  brothers,  who  showed  little  generosity,  and 
no  inclination  to  assist  the  army  which  had  come  to  their 
aid.  This  was  one  of  the  many  disillusions  to  which  I 
have  already  alluded. 

The  division  of  the  Duke  of  Savoy,  more  fortunate 
than  the  others,  suffered  but  little  from  want  of  food  or 

^  Victor  Emanuel's  opinion  of  General  Alphonse  La  Marmora  is  curiously 
confirmed  by  Theodor  von  Bernhardi.  In  the  seventh  volume  of  his  Tagebuch- 
blatter  (1866-1867),  just  published,  he  talks  of  La  Marmora  as  a  narrow- 
minded  Piedmontese,  whose  management  of  military  affairs  was  childish. 
The  king  said  to  Bernhardi  (p.  225),  '  //  «'a  pas  beaucoup  de  tete,  ce  pauvre 
La  Marmora.^  On  the  other  hand,  La  Marmora  told  him,  '  Prenez  garde 
que  le  roi  ne  vous  fasse  quelque  pdti  .  .  .  comme  le  rot  rHest  pas  fori  .  .  .  il 
en  a  fait  6b  moi.'' — Translator' s  Note. 


VERONESE  COMMITTEE  BREAK  PROMISES  63 

forage.  After  the  first  days  of  confusion  we  arranged 
directly  with  the  various  syndics  to  furnish  supplies  on 
notes  of  hand,  which  were  faithfully  paid  at  Turin  the 
following  year  when  I  was  in  the  ministry. 

From  [Santa  Giustina  the  king  transferred  his  head- 
quarters to  Sommacampagna,  while  the  duke  went  to 
Guastalla. 

The  ministry  at  Turin,  the  provincial  governments  of 
Lombardy,  and  the  Duchies  were  always  urging  Charles 
Albert  to  strike  a  decisive  blow  in  order  to  maintain  the 
popular  enthusiasm  (particularly  in  the  Lombard  provinces, 
where  registers  had  been  opened  in  favour  of  annexation) ; 
while  the  Veronese  Committee  assured  him  that  the  whole 
population  would  rise  to  expel  the  Austrian  garrison.^  So, 
for  the  second  time,  he  determined  to  take  the  offensive, 
and  attempt  to  lure  the  enemy  out  of  Verona,  in  the  hopes 
of  gaining  a  decisive  victory  in  the  open  to  be  announced 
at  the  meeting  of  Parliament,  fixed  for  the  8th  May.  On 
the  4th  he  charged  both  Bava  and  Franzini  to  prepare 
plans  of  battle.  He  chose  Franzini's — more  complicated, 
but  not  very  dissimilar  from  that  of  Bava.  At  a  council 
of  all  the  generals — saving,  I  never  knew  why,  the  duke — 
the  king's  opinion  prevailed  ;  and  Bava  undertook  to  carry 
it  out,  demanding  twenty-four  hours  in  which  to  distribute 
orders  to  the  troops  destined  to  be  engaged — the  ist  corps, 
the  reserve,  and  a  division  of  the  2d  corps.  The  king, 
however,  and  probably  the  other  generals,  insisted  on  the 
immediate  execution  of  the  plan,  either  in  the  hope  of 
surprising  the  enemy,  or  because  the  Veronese  Committee 
announced  a  rising  within  the  city  for  the  6th. 

Orders  were  therefore  prepared  and  sent  out  during  the 

1  The  promises  and  affirmations  of  the  members  of  this  Committee,  too 
lightly  made  in  the  name  of  the  citizens,  were  most  injurious  to  the  Italian 
cause.  They  were  the  primary  cause  of  the  mistaken  actions  at  Santa  Lucia,  at 
Tomba  and  Tombetta.  The  cruelty  with  which  they  were  punished  by  the 
Austrians  forbids  us  to  judge  them  too  severely. 


64        AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A    VETERAN 

night.  But  the  time  was  too  short.  Many  commanding 
officers  were  left  in  total  ignorance  of  what  had  been 
settled  and  never  moved,  others  received  their  instructions 
too  late,  or  they  were  not  clear,  so  they  arrived  when  the 
battle  was  half  over,  some  even  when  it  was  finished. 

The  orders  were  that  at  seven  on  the  morning  of  the 
6th  May  the  army  was  to  be  under  Verona.  The  ist 
division  at  S.  Massimo  to  form  the  centre ;  the  2d  at 
Santa  Lucia  on  the  right ;  the  3d  at  Croce  Bianca  on  the 
left ;  one  brigade  of  the  reserve,  the  Guards,  were  to  go 
to  Santa  Lucia,  the  second  was  to  support  the  centre. 

But  at  seven  o'clock  no  one  had  appeared  at  their 
appointed  places  save  the  king  and  Bava  (who  was  in 
command)  with  their  staffs,  and  the  Aosta  brigade  with 
the  8th  battery  of  artillery.  Seeing  this  the  king  wished 
to  postpone  the  engagement,  but  Radetzky,  as  usual,  per- 
fectly informed  as  to  our  movements,  opened  fire,  and 
from  an  offensive  ours  became  a  defensive  movement. 
We  had  received  our  orders  at  Guastalla,  after  ten  in  the 
evening,  and  I  passed  the  night  in  distributing  them  to 
the  various  commanders.  All  were  not  ready  at  the 
appointed  time,  and  the  duke  and  I  were  kept  waiting 
about  an  hour.  However,  the  Guards  reached  Somma- 
campagna  at  half-past  seven,  and  I  sent  them  on  to  Santa 
Lucia  to  reinforce  the  Aosta  brigade. 

Passing  through  the  small  village  of  Tana,  on  our  way 
to  S.  Massimo,  I  noticed  a  ladder  against  the  church  tower, 
and,  interrogating  some  peasants,  learned  that  Austrian 
troops  had  just  passed  through  in  the  same  direction 
as  ourselves.  Dismounting,  I  climbed  to  the  top  of  the 
tower,  and  saw  that  S.  Massimo  was  still  unoccupied, 
and  we  reached  there  before  the  division  of  General 
d'Arvillars,  under  whose  orders  the  duke  was.  After  his 
arrival  we  saw  that  the  enemy  on  the  other  side  of  the 
hill  were  continually  receiving  large  reinforcements.     The 


CUNEO  BRIGADE  ORDERED  TO  ADVANCE  65 

general  gave  the  artillery  orders  to  fire,  but  seeing  the 
preponderating  numbers  of  the  enemy,  and  the  strong 
position  occupied  by  them,  he  waited  for  renewed  orders 
before  attacking. 

A  little  after  mid-day  General  d'Arvillars  sent  an  aide- 
de-camp  to  the  duke,  ordering  the  Cuneo  brigade  to  go 
to  Santa  Lucia.  This  seemed  to  me  so  contrary  to  all 
scientific  rules,  which  forbid  a  column  to  expose  its  flank 
to  the  enemy's  fire,  that  I  feared  the  aide-de-camp,  who 
was  the  general's  son  and  very  young,  might  have  made 
some  mistake,  and  sent  to  request  the  order  to  be  repeated. 
On  receiving  the  confirmation  the  duke  immediately 
started,  and  I  galloped  off  with  the  captain  of  the  staff. 
Count  S.  Martino  d'Agli^,  to  find  Bava  and  ask  what 
position  the  Cuneo  brigade  was  to  occupy.  I  found  Bava 
at  Santa  Lucia,  who  told  me  the  Guards  had  greatly  dis- 
tinguished themselves,  but  had  suffered  severely.  Fearing 
that  they  would  not  be  able  to  hold  the  position  against 
a  renewed  attack,  he  had  ordered  the  Cuneo  brigade  to 
take  their  place.  Then  he  sent  me  to  reconnoitre  the 
ground  in  front  of  the  first  line. 

Dismounting,  I  advanced,  and  at  a  bend  of  the  road 
found  General  Sommariva  (commander  of  the  Aosta 
brigade)  bending  over  the  body  of  Count  Balbis,  his 
young  aide-de-camp.  Raising  the  handkerchief  he  had 
thrown  over  the  poor  fellow's  face,  he  let  me  have  a  last 
look  at  him,  then  drawing  a  ring  off  the  dead  hand  he  said, 
with  an  unsteady  voice,  '  I  shall  give  this  myself  to  his 
parents.'  He  warned  me  that  the  road  was  swept  by  the 
fire  of  an  Austrian  battery,  and  for  a  moment  I  felt  my 
heart  beat,  not  for  myself — a  bachelor — but  for  d'Agli^, 
who  had  left  his  young  wife,  about  to  become  a  mother, 
to  resume  service  in  the  army  when  war  was  declared. 
We  walked  on  fast — not  running,  lest  people  might  think 
us  cowards — and  when  I  had  fulfilled  my  mission,  returned 

E 


66        A  UTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A    VETERAN 

to  meet  the  Cuneo  brigade.  It  came  up  with  the  artillery 
about  four  o'clock,  having  been  knocked  about  during  the 
flank  march,  but  full  of  fight. 

We  had  hardly  taken  up  the  positions  held  till  then  by 
the  Guards  when  news  came  that  the  king  had  ordered 
a  retreat.  So  astonished  and  disappointed  were  we  that 
we  refused  to  believe  it.  Shortly  afterwards  Bava  arrived, 
in  full  dress  uniform,  with  all  his  decorations  (his  habit 
was  to  dress  so  for  battle),  and  bowing  low  to  the  duke,  as 
a  well-bred  man  would  do  to  a  prince  in  a  ballroom,  said, 
*  With  your  Royal  Highness's  permission,  I  take  command 
of,  and  lead  the  retreat,  requesting  your  Royal  Highness 
to  protect  the  rearguard.'  Then,  in  a  clear  voice,  im- 
passible under  the  enemy's  fire,  he  gave  the  words  of  com- 
mand, '  Retreat  by  sections.' 

Charles  Albert  had  ridden  several  times  during  the 
engagement  up  to  the  walls  of  Verona,  hoping  to  see  the 
signal  which  had  been  agreed  upon,  or,  at  least,  to  receive 
some  message.  Once  he  was  nearly  made  prisoner  by  a 
squadron  of  Uhlans ;  luckily  they  were  put  to  flight  by 
shells  fired  from  two  of  our  guns.  No  sign  came  from  the 
town,  and  on  hearing  that  the  centre  column  had  been 
unable  to  deploy  in  line  for  the  capture  of  S.  Massimo, 
which  was  well  defended,  while  the  Broglia  division  had 
failed  in  the  attack  on  Croce  Bianca,  he  deemed  it  better 
to  desist  and  order  the  retreat.  Santa  Lucia  alone  was  in 
our  possession,  and  the  error  committed  at  Pastrengo  was 
repeated  there.  Our  troops  were  masters  of  the  position, 
fresh  ones  were  ready  to  reinforce  them.  The  D'Arvillars 
and  Broglia  divisions  might  also  have  been  called  up  to 
pursue  the  enemy  into  Verona  itself,  where  the  population, 
at  the  sight  of  the  Italian  troops,  would  probably  have 
fulfilled  the  promises  made  by  their  representatives.  It 
was  a  fatal  mistake,  and  most  painful  for  us  to  see  victory 
always  elude  us  when  half  won,  more  especially  at  Santa 


RADETZKY  REOCCUPIES  SANTA  LUCIA     67 

Lucia,  which  had  been  taken  at  so  great  a  sacrifice.  We 
lost  seven  hundred  or  eight  hundred  killed  and  wounded, 
and  the  Austrian  loss  was  greater. 

Radetzky    reoccupied    the    position    immediately  the 
duke  left,  but  did  not  molest  our  retreat. 


CHAPTER    VII 

1 848 —  Continued 

My  Plan  to  prevent  a  Junction  between  Radetzky  and  Nugent  —  Spys  at 
Villafranca — We  concentrate  at  Valeggio— The  Austrians  attack  Us — 
Victor  Emanuel  is  wounded — Fall  of  Peschiera — Radetzky  takes 
Vicenza — We  blockade  Mantua — Battle  of  Custoza — We  retreat  on 
Goito — King  refuses  Armistice — We  retreat  on  Milan— Tumults  in 
Milan — Capitulation —  We  evacuate  Milan. 

We  remained  inactive  at  Guastalla  for  several  weeks,  riding 
now  to  Peschiera  to  watch  the  preparations  for  the  siege, 
now  to  Sommacampagna,  the  king's  headquarters,  whence 
we  always  returned  out  of  temper  and  disappointed  at 
hearing  and  seeing  no  sign  of  intending  hostilities.  The 
2d  regiment  of  Grenadiers  was  at  Guastalla,  the  ist  at 
Sommacampagna,  while  great  part  of  the  Cuneo  brigade 
was  employed  in  transporting  the  siege  artillery  which 
arrived  from  Alessandria  towards  the  middle  of  May.  Owing 
to  the  heavy  rain  the  roads  were  almost  impassable,  and 
it  required  hundreds  of  men  to  move  each  piece.  A  few 
battalions  of  the  Cuneo  brigade  were  ranged  in  echelon 
behind  the  centre  of  the  line,  which  extended  from  Rivoli 
to  Villafranca,  resting  on  Valeggio  and  Goito  in  order  to 
assist  the  cavalry  in  guarding  our  flanks.  Valeggio  was 
defended  by  the  artillery  and  the  cavalry  brigade. 

These  dispositions  had  been  made  to  guard  against  a 
possible  attack  by  Radetzky,  who  was  expecting  General 
Nugent  with  sixteen  thousand  or  eighteen  thousand  men. 
The  latter  had  crossed  the  Isonzo  and  was  already  in  Friuli, 

68 


PLAN  FOR  PREVENTING  THE  JUNCTION    tg 

but  the  Tagliamento,  the  Piave,  and  the  Brenta  still  lay 
before  him,  swollen  by  the  heavy  rains.  For  this,  or 
some  other  reason,  his  advance  was  so  slow  that  General 
Durando  had  time  to  confront  him  with  twelve  or 
fifteen  thousand  Romans,  Swiss,  and  Italians  from  various 
provinces,  half  regular  troops,  half  volunteers.  Knowing 
how  little  one  could  count  upon  men  hastily  collected  and 
unacquainted  with  their  officers,  some  of  whom  were  unfit 
for  their  post,  we  trembled  for  the  result 

For  several  days  and  nights  I  had  been  possessed 
with  one  idea — to  prevent  the  junction  between  Nugent 
and  Radetzky.  Preparing  a  plan,  hazardous  I  admit, 
but  not  impracticable,  I  submitted  it  to  the  duke.  I 
suggested  crossing  the  Adige,  between  Verona  and 
Legnano,  by  a  flying  bridge  at  night,  and  marching  to 
the  assistance  of  Durando.  If  properly  carried  out,  we 
ought  to  be  at  some  distance  before  the  enemy  knew  of 
our  movements ;  and  even  had  he  followed  and  caught 
us  up,  I  was  confident  of  beating  him  with  our  brave 
fellows  fresh  from  the  victory  at  Pastrengo,  the  more 
so,  that  he  would  have  been  between  two  fires ;  Charles 
Albert,  with  two  divisions,  attacking  Verona  in  front, 
and  Victor  Emanuel,  with  his  division  and  the  Savoy 
brigade  on  the  side  facing  the  Adige — in  all  sixty 
thousand  men.  If  not  molested,  we  should  join  Durando, 
and  drive  Nugent  back  beyond  the  Tagliamento. 

The  duke  liked  my  plan,  resolved  to  suggest  it  to  his 
father,  and  rode  off  next  morning  in  high  spirits.  But, 
alas !  he  returned  dispirited  and  irritated.  Never  had 
his  father  treated  him  so  harshly,  or  repulsed  him  so 
severely.  The  king  said  that  if  he  considered  himself 
a  general  because  he  wore  a  general's  uniform,  he  would 
teach  him  that  he  knew  nothing,  that  he  could  only 
repeat  a  lesson  taught  him  by  others,  and  that  he 
appeared   to  have  forgotten   that  it  was  not  for  him  to 


70        AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A    VETERAN 

give  advice  to  his  superiors,  who  had  never  asked 
for  it. 

Victor  Emanuel,  grieved  and  extremely  mortified,  was 
at  first  rather  cross  with  me,  the  indirect  cause  of  his 
annoyance.  But,  kind  and  just,  that  soon  passed  off,  and 
he  was  soon  convinced  that  we  were  not  so  much  in  the 
wrong.  Durando,  left  to  himself  with  his  volunteers,  was 
beaten ;  and  first  Nugent,  then  Thurn,  joined  Radetzky, 
who  at  once  prepared  to  take  the  offensive.  Finding  our 
front  and  flanks  well  protected,  he  determined  to  attack  us 
in  the  rear,  and  thus  liberate  Peschiera. 

Besides  instituting  continual  reconnaissances  round 
Verona,  I  had  arranged  with  some  trusty  Piedmontese, 
small  traders  in  the  district,  to  collect  what  news  they 
could  from  their  German  clients.  One  of  them  brought 
me  proof  that  some  Italians,  members  of  the  Municipal 
Council  of  Villafranca,  were  in  correspondence  with  General 
Radetzky's  headquarters.  Furious,  I  went  to  tell  the  duke, 
who  commanded  me  to  find  out  the  culprits  and  reprimand 
them  severely  in  his  name.  At  Villafranca  I  discovered 
the  whole  story.  Carried  away  by  my  indignation,  instead 
of  informing  General  Passalaqua,  as  I  ought  to  have  done, 
I  went  straight  to  the  accused,  and  upbraided  them  in  no 
measured  terms.  Of  course  they  denied,  and  as  soon  as 
my  back  was  turned  went  to  Passalaqua  to  complain,  and 
protest  their  innocence.  The  general  reported  me  to  the 
king,  who  condemned  me  to  two  months'  imprisonment  in 
the  fortress  of  Pizzighettone.  But  my  good  friend  Franzini 
interceded,  and  the  sentence  was  revoked. 

From  my  Piedmontese  spies  I  learned  that  prepara- 
tions were  being  made  in  Verona  for  a  sortie  in  strength, 
which  was  soon  confirmed  by  Lieutenant  Marquis  Trecchi, 
whom  I  had  despatched  with  an  escort  to  reconnoitre. 
He  returned  with  the  news  that  a  large  force  of  infantry, 
cavalry,  and   artillery  with  a  siege  battery,  were  leaving 


TROOPS  CONCENTRATE  AT  VALEGGIO      71 

Verona  in  the  direction  of  Mantua.  I  sent  at  once  to 
warn  them  at  headquarters,  and  the  same  information 
arrived  a  little  later  from  Passalaqua  at  Villafranca.  We 
received  orders  to  concentrate  troops  at  Valeggio,  and 
early  on  30th  May  we  left  with  the  king  in  the  direction  of 
Goito,  crossing  the  Mincio  at  Borghetto,  on  the  way  to 
Volta.  On  the  march  we  met  a  Tuscan  officer,  who 
narrated  the  losses  suffered  the  day  before  by  the  militia 
at  Curtatone  and  Montanara.  The  troops  we  had  seen 
leave  Verona  had  made  a  sortie  from  Mantua,  and  in  over- 
whelming force  had  fallen  on  the  few  thousand  volunteers 
under  General  de  Laugier,  to  whom  Bava  had  not  had 
time  to  send  the  promised  reinforcements.  The  number 
of  Tuscans  and  Neapolitans  dead  and  wounded  was 
enormous,  the  rest  had  retreated  to  Brescia. 

From  Volta  we  continued  our  march  to  Goito,  which 
we  reached  before  mid-day.  The  king  took  up  his  position 
on  the  rising  ground  of  Somenzari,  while  the  duke  in  the 
plain  reviewed  his  division,  already  drawn  up  in  line  of 
battle  according  to  the  instructions  sent  by  Bava.  The 
engagement  was  to  be  fought  by  the  ist  corps  and  the  Duke 
of  Savoy's  division,  in  all  a  little  over  eighteen  thousand 
men,  a  number  about  equal  to  the  Austrian  force.  The  two 
brigades  (Guards  and  Cuneo)  of  the  Duke's  division  were 
in  position  behind  the  artillery,  one  half  of  each  in  the 
first  line,  and  with  the  Aosta  brigade  (division  D'Arvillar) 
formed  one  right  wing  facing  the  road  leading  from  Goito 
to  Brescia,  and  parallel  to  that  from  Volta.  The  high  road 
between  Solarolo  and  Ceresara  was  thus  guarded.  On  the 
left  the  division  Ferrere  was  covered  by  Goito,  and  in  a 
position  to  resist  any  attack,  but  the  Guards  on  the  extreme 
right,  being  quite  in  the  open,  might  easily  have  been 
outflanked.  Bava  had,  therefore,  strengthened  them  with 
artillery  and  cavalry.  His  chief  of  the  staff,  sent  to  recon- 
noitre in  the  direction  of  Gazzoldo,  returned  without  having 


72        AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A    VETERAN 

seen  any  sign  of  the  enemy ;  but  Castelborgo,  colonel  of 
the  Aosta  cavalry,  reconnoitring  towards  Sacca,  reported 
that  large  bodies  of  troops  were  marching  thence  in  the 
direction  of  Goito.  Bava,  who  had  expected  to  be  taken 
in  the  rear  from  Gazzolo  was  reassured,  and  made  up  his 
mind  the  large  bodies  of  Austrians  were  only  small  patrols, 
and  that  so  late  in  the  day  (3  p.m.)  there  was  no  fear  of  any 
attack.  Ordering  the  men  to  pile  arms,  and  the  rations  to 
be  distributed,  he  joined  the  king,  and  they  rode  slowly 
along  the  Volta  road  back  towards  Valeggio.  The  Duke 
of  Savoy  handed  over  his  division  to  me  and  followed 
after  them. 

I  had  been  too  busy  to  eat  anything  before  starting, 
and,  passing  a  baker's  shop  on  the  march,  bought  a  hot 
roll,  which  thoroughly  disagreed  with  me.  Feeling  horribly . 
sick,  I  had  dismounted  and  stretched  myself  on  the  grass 
while  the  men  were  eating.  Suddenly  my  brother  rushed 
up.  He  also  had  seen  a  large  Austrian  force  near  Goito, 
and  implored  me  to  warn  the  king. 

Charles  Albert  and  his  suite  were  riding  at  a  walk,  so  I 
soon  caught  them  up,  and  hardly  were  the  words  out  of  my 
mouth  when  a  cannon  shot  confirmed  them.  Turning  his 
horse,  the  king  galloped  back  to  Goito  to  give  fresh  orders, 
immediately  executed,  because  Castelborgo,  on  his  return 
from  reconnoitring,  had,  in  passing,  told  the  officers  of 
the  artillery  and  of  the  brigades  that  he  was  convinced  an 
attack  was  imminent. 

At  3.30  p.m.  the  Austrians,  as  Bava  had  supposed, 
attempted  to  turn  our  right  where  the  Grenadiers  and 
artillery  were  posted ;  the  latter  immediately  opened  fire 
upon  them.  I  was  behind  the  Grenadiers,  and  as  it 
seemed  to  me  that  General  Biscaretti,  absorbed  in  station- 
ing his  battalions,  delayed  the  more  necessary  duty  of 
launching  them  against  the  enemy,  I  gave  the  order  to 
charge — 'Battalion  Marmorito,  battalion  La  Rovere,  for- 


VICTOR  EMANUEL   WOUNDED  73 

ward  ;  charge  with  the  bayonet ! '  Our  splendid  Grenadiers 
rushed  forward  with  tremendous  impetus ;  but  many  men 
and  officers  fell,  among  them  Camillo  Cavour's  nephew. 
The  Austrians  withdrew,  but  only  to  bear  down  on  our 
centre,  which  wavered  for  a  moment  at  the  point  where 
the  Cuneo  and  Aosta  brigades  touched.  A  battalion  had 
given  way,  thus  breaking  the  line.  But  the  Duke  of 
Savoy  threw  himself  into  their  midst,  shouting,  *  Avantiy 
fieui;  couragi,  avanti  r '^  infusing  fresh  ardour  into  them 
and  reforming  the  line. 

Major  MoUard  did  the  same  with  his  battalion  of  the 
Aosta  brigade.  The  artillery,  hampered  by  the  crowd  of 
our  own  men  advancing  to  meet  the  enemy  close  at  hand, 
could  no  longer  manoeuvre.  One  battery,  stopped  by  a 
ditch  flanked  by  trees,  ran  imminent  risk  of  being  cap- 
tured, when  Mollard  dismounted,  seized  a  rifle,  and  at  the 
head  of  his  men  charged  with  fixed  bayonets.  The 
Austrians  retreated  and  then  fled. 

The  bullets  were  whistling  past  our  ears  and  falling 
like  hail,  killing  men  all  round  us.  I  leant  towards  the 
duke  and  whispered,  *  I  expect  we  shall  find  ourselves 
this  evening  a  ca  d'Bergniff!^ 

*  Not  at  all,'  he  answered ;  '  my  plans  are  different. 
Someone  is  waiting  for  me  this  evening  at  Volta — but  not 
Bergniff!  While  thus  joking,  the  duke  suddenly  put  his 
hand  to  his  right  thigh,  saying  in  the  same  tone  of  voice, 
*  I  am  wounded.' 

Seeing  him  so  calm,  and  that  he  had  not  changed 
colour,  I  felt  sure  the  wound  could  not  be  dangerous,  but 
insisted  on  his  going  to  a  surgeon,  who  was  behind  a  mul- 
berry hedge  near  by.  We  walked  our  horses  quietly,  as  if 
we  were  only  changing  our  places,  and  the  surgeon  pro- 
nounced the  wound  to  have  been  made  by  a  ricochetting 

^  '  Forward,  my  sons  ;  courage,  forward  ! ' 
'  *  House  of  the  devil '  (hell). 


74        AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A   VETERAN 

ball,  and  not  serious,  though  it  bled  a  good  deal.  As  soon 
as  the  duke  heard  this  he  refused  to  have  the  wound 
dressed,  and  remounted  to  show  himself  to  the  troops, 
among  whom  the  news  that  he  was  wounded  was  already 
circulating.  I  then  asked  leave  to  go  and  tell  the  king, 
lest  the  news  might  reach  him  in  an  exaggerated  form. 

Charles  Albert  had  not  heard  of  his  son's  wound,  and 
was  listening  to  my  report,  when  Captain  Franzini,  the 
general's  youngest  brother,  came  from  Peschiera  with  a 
letter  from  the  Duke  of  Genoa.  The  king  opened  it  with- 
out dropping  his  reins.  Before  he  had  time  to  read  a  word 
a  projectile  fell  a  few  feet  in  front  of  his  horse,  which 
reared.  The  king  drove  his  spurs  into  the  beast  and 
forced  him  to  stand  over  the  shell.  We  all  remained 
motionless,  but  reflected,  '  If  that  grenade  bursts,  the  king 
will  be  blown  up  and  all  of  us  with  him.'  The  shell  did 
not  burst ;  the  king  read  his  letter,  and  with  perfect  calm- 
ness looked  slowly  round  at  us  and  said, — 

^Messieurs,  Peschiera  est  a  nous^'^ 

We  saluted  these  words  with  a  tremendous  hurrah, 
which  was  taken  up  all  along  our  line,  followed  by  a 
general  and  voluntary  attack  with  the  bayonet,  which 
sent  the  enemy  flying. 

This  engagement,  and  that  of  Pastrengo,  were  the 
most  glorious  days  for  the  small,  but  courageous  and 
well-disciplined  Piedmontese  army ;  defended  by  excel- 
lent artillery,  and  composed  of  men  who  knew  and  trusted 
their  officers.  Had  its  leaders  possessed  resolution  and 
audacity,  the  fate  of  Italy  would  have  been  decided  in  a 
few  months.  The  hesitation  and  want  of  initiative  and 
unity  among  the  commanders,  the  weakness  of  the  head 
of  the  general  staff,  and  the  badness  of  the  commissariat 
damped  its  enthusiasm  and  destroyed  many  of  its  good 

^  During  the  whole  campaign  Charles  Albert  preserved  his  habit  of  talking 
French  to  us. 


FALL  OF  PESCHIERA        '  75 

qualities ;  but  not,  as  has  been  said  and  written,  to  such 
an  extent  as  to  cause  insubordination  or  cowardice.  Till 
the  end  of  the  campaign  of  1848,  in  spite  of  attempts  at 
corruption,  the  men  were  valorous  and  faithful  to  the  king 
and  the  House  of  Savoy. 

As  soon  as  I  heard  the  good  news  that  Peschiera  was 
ours  I  started  back  to  tell  the  duke,  although  I  felt  so  ill 
that  I  could  hardly  sit  my  horse.  He  left  for  Volta  after 
giving  me  his  orders  for  the  night's  bivouacking,  and  I  sent 
out  to  bring  in  the  dead  and  wounded.  The  excitement 
which  had  sustained  me  all  day  then  ceased,  and  I  fell  flat 
on  the  ground. 

Count  Piatti,  a  Veronese,  one  of  the  officers  in  the 
duke's  suite,  came  to  my  assistance.  We  saw  a  cart 
drawn  by  a  donkey  coming  along  with  a  wounded  man 
in  it,  who  turned  out  to  be  my  cousin,  Major  Marmorito. 
I  was  lifted  in,  and  we  reached  Volta  late  at  night.  Next 
morning  I  was  all  right  again. 

The  weather  had  changed  to  rain  during  the  night,  and 
our  men  suffered  much,  particularly  from  want  of  food. 
The  commissariat  broke  down  completely ;  the  contrac- 
tors lost  their  heads,  and  could  not  follow  our  rapid  move- 
ments. In  less  than  twenty-four  hours  we  had  concentrated 
eighteen  thousand  men  at  Goito.  Not  knowing  the  avail- 
able force  of  the  enemy,  whose  second  line  was  not  far  off", 
we  were  obliged  to  await  the  arrival  of  De  Sonnaz's  corps, 
summoned  to  Volta  by  Bava.  Meanwhile  we  pre- 
pared for  a  more  important  battle  to  be  fought  on  the 
same  ground. 

There  were  a  few  trifling  skirmishes  between  the 
Austrians  and  our  outposts  on  the  ist  and  2d  June;  on 
the  3d  the  2d  corps  arrived  ;  and  on  the  4th  the  staffs 
left  Valeggio  for  Goito,  where  the  army  was  in  battle 
order.  But  it  was  too  late  ;  the  enemy,  who  were  at  Sacca, 
Ceresara,  and  Solarolo  the  night  before,  had  disappeared 


7^        AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A    VETERAN 

A  {t.\f  thousand  retired  to  Verona,  but  the  greater 
number  marched  towards  Mantua.  The  retreat  was  a 
blind  to  cover  Radetzky's  real  destination — Vicenza — 
whence  he  proposed  to  drive  Durando.^  Our  troops 
advanced  as  far  as  the  dyke  of  Curtatone  and  Monta- 
nara,  but  only  found  traces  of  the  recent  passage  of  the 
enemy,  and  returned  in.  the  evening  to  their  old  camping 
ground.  The  king  and  the  duke  went  back  to  Valeggio, 
where  we  passed  the  month  of  June.  The  former  was, 
however,  often  absent ;  first  going  to  take  formal  pos- 
session of  Peschiera,  and  then  passing  some  days  at 
Garda,  where  he  received  Count  Casati  with  the  Lom- 
bard deputation,  who  presented  the  registers  with  56i,cxxD 
signatures  in  favour  of  immediate  annexion  to  Piedmont. 
Modena,  Parma,  Piacenza,  and  other  cities  on  the  right 
bank  of  the  Po,  had  already  sent  in  their  votes. 

Several  generals  were  summoned  to  Garda  to  discuss 
the  various  projects  the  king  had  under  consideration. 
As  soon  as  Franzini  knew  that  Radetzky  had  marched 
on  Vicenza  he  strongly  advised  following  him  ;  while  the 
king  thought  we  had  better  take  advantage  of  his  absence 
to  attack  Verona.  Bava  was  not  averse,  but  insisted  that 
the  central  positions  round  Goito  should  not  be  abandoned, 
or  our  retreat,  in  case  of  disaster,  would  be  cut  off.  General 
de  Sonnaz  and  others  affirmed  the  necessity  of  driving  the 
enemy  from  Rivoli  before  attempting  to  take  Verona,  and 
also  suggested  a  rapid  advance  from  Villafranca  in  order 
to  cut  off  Radetzky's  return.  Charles  Albert  decided  on 
attacking  Verona  during  the  absence  of  the  Austrian  com- 
mander-in-chief, and  orders  were  given  to  concentrate  at 

^  Unfortunately,  he  effected  his  purpose  on  the  9th  and  loth  June. 
Durando  had  beaten  off  the  Austrians  on  the  23d  and  24th  May,  but  now 
succumbed  to  superior  numbers.  Colonel  Massimo  d'Azeglio  (volunteer) 
and  Colonel  Cialdini,  lately  come  from  Spain  to  offer  his  services  to  the 
Italian  cause,  were  wounded  on  that  murderous  day  at  Vicenza. 


9^         OF  TTiP.  "^ 

UNIVERSITY 


FALL  OF  VICENZA 

Villafranca  on  the    12th,  and   march   thence  on  Verona, 
Tomba  and  Tombetta. 

Leaving  Villafranca  on  the  morning  of  the  13th  we 
reached  our  destination  the  same  evening.  The  duke's 
division  was  the  first  to  reach  Tomba,  and  on  the  way  the 
superior  officers  heard  the  bad  news  that  Vicenza  had 
fallen  and  Durando  had  been  forced  to  capitulate.  This 
implied  the  probable  return  of  Radetzky.  We  bivouacked 
that  night  (over  40,000  men)  under  the  walls  of  Verona, 
hourly  waiting  for  a  signal  that  Caliari,  a  member  of  the 
famous  Veronese  Committee,  was  to  give  on  the  outbreak 
of  the  revolution  inside  the  town. 

We  looked  in  vain,  no  signal  came;  and  at  dawn  on 
the  14th  we  received  orders  from  headquarters,  where 
Radetzky's  return  was  known,  to  retire. 

At  Valeggio  ambassadors,  diplomats,  intermediaries, 
bringing  advice  or  proposals  for  peace  or  mediation,  were 
perpetually  coming  and  going.  A  deputation  arrived  from  ■ 
Sicily  to  offer  the  crown  to  the  Duke  of  Genova  ;  ministers 
came  from  Turin  to  take  orders,  and  to  entreat  that  the 
war  should  be  rapidly  pushed  on  ;  Parma,  Piacenza  and 
Modena  sent  members  of  their  provisional  governments 
begging  for  aid  to  counteract  the  intrigues  of  the  deposed 
dukes  and  the  retrograde  party;  while  the  Lombard  re- 
presentatives insisted  on  immediate  action  and  the  em- 
ployment of  the  contingents  sent  by  Lombardy,  whose 
number  they  exaggerated. 

General  Hector  Perrone  was  organising  these,  a  diffi- 
cult task,  and  one  not  to  be  accomplished  in  a  few  days ; 
and  meanwhile  their  impatience  reached  fever  heat.  En- 
thusiasm turned  to  criticism ;  odious  suppositions  and 
calumnies  were  rife,  attacking  even  the  king. 

Our  numbers  were  immensely  exaggerated.  People 
talked  of  1 20,000  or  1 30,000  men  as  against  70,000  or  75,000 
Austrians.     In  reality,  we  had  fewer  men  than  the  enemy 


78        AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A    VETERAN 

— 6500  were  in  hospital,  and  their  number  increased  daily ; 
18,000  were  in  Venice,  and  about  the  same  number  were 
immobilised  by  the  capitulations  of  Vicenza,  Treviso  and 
Palmanova.^  So  that  in  July  we  had  only  65,000  men 
under  arms,  and  in  worse  condition  than  Radetzky's  75,000. 
Nevertheless,  something  had  to  be  done.  Charles  Albert, 
daily  importuned  to  move,  waited  in  vain  for  the  enemy 
to  attack  us.  At  last  he  charged  Bava  to  prepare  a  plan 
of  campaign,  and  the  general  suggested  the  blockade  of 
Mantua. 

I  saw  Bava  several  times  while  he  was  working  at  his 
plan  and  made  objections  to  it,  partly  on  strategical 
grounds,  but  chiefly  on  account  of  the  time  of  year, 
which  in  that  marshy  country  would  be  fatal  to  the 
health  of  our  troops.  However,  he  persisted  in  his  idea, 
and  gave  me  a  copy  of  his  plan  for  the  Duke  of  Savoy, 
who,  remembering  how  his  proposal  to  prevent  Nugent's 
juncture  with  Radetzky  had  been  received,  refused  to  look 
at  it,  determined  never  to  speak  about  the  conduct  of  the 
war  with  his  father. 

Charles  Albert  resolved  to  execute  Bava's  design,  but 
declined  to  recall  the  troops  from  Rivoli  to  form  a  second 
line  and  strengthen  our  weak  centre.  Never  was  a  position 
so  ill  chosen  or  so  contrary  to  military  tactics  as  ours  in 
July  1848.  From  the  extreme  right  to  the  extreme  left 
our  line  covered  thirty-one  miles  ;  our  right,  near  Mantua, 
was  strong,  our  centre  weak,  and  our  left  too  far  off  to 
render  any  help. 

Bava  had  command  of  the  right  wing,  consisting  of 
from  30,000  to  36,000  men,  soon  reinforced  by  the  arrival 
of  General  Perrone  with  his  Lombard  division  of  9000; 
the  left,  under  De  Sonnaz,  extended  from  Sommacam- 
pagna  to  Rivoli,  and  numbered  little  more  than  15,000; 

^  One  of  the  chief  conditions  imposed  by  the  Austrians  was  not  to  bear 
arms  against  them  during  the  war. 


BLOCKADE  OF  MANTUA  79 

in  the  centre,  between  Peschiera  and  Goito,  was  Broglia's 
division  of  about  10,000  to  12,000  men. 

On  the  13th  July  the  blockade  of  Mantua  began,  the 
divisions  of  the  Dukes  of  Savoy  and  Genoa  being 
stationed  between  Roverbella  and  Castel  Belforte. 

The  king's  headquarters  were  at  Marmirolo,  ours  at 
Roverbella,  with  rice  fields  to  our  left.  The  soldiers  slept 
on  the  damp  ground,  the  duke  with  his  officers  on  straw 
in  a  miserable  hut.  In  the  early  morning,  when  the  reveille 
sounded,  the  fog  was  so  dense  over  the  fields  that  when 
we  passed  the  men  in  review  at  a  little  distance  we  only 
saw  their  heads  and  shoulders.  They  looked  like  an  army 
of  busts. 

On  the  23d  July  we  heard  cannonading  in  the  direction 
of  Sona  and  Sommacampagna,  Sent  by  the  duke  to  Mar- 
mirolo to  ask  for  orders  from  General  Salasco,  he  told  me 
the  army  was  to  concentrate  at  Villafranca,  charging  me 
to  send  word  also  to  the  Duke  of  Genoa.  I  ventured  to 
suggest  that  Villafranca  was  not  a  fortunate  choice,  but 
Salasco  brusquely  repeated  his  orders. 

At  mid-day  the  division  d'Arvillars,  that  of  Victor 
Emanuel,  and  half  the  division  of  the  Duke  of  Genoa, 
were  marching  towards  Villafranca.  Before  leaving,  the 
duke,  with  La  Marmora,  went  to  the  king,  and  the  latter 
made  the  same  observation  about  Villafranca  to  Charles 
Albert  as  I  had  to  Salasco,  with  the  same  result.  On 
the  way  he  again  said  that  not  Villafranca  but  Valeggio, 
a  good  defensive  position,  being  surrounded  by  hills, 
would  form  an  excellent  support  to  the  army.  The  king 
curtly  replied, '  We  go  where  the  enemy's  cannon  calls  us.' 
An  excellent  answer  for  whoso  wishes  to  see  a  battlefield, 
but  not  for  one  who  has  to  lead  an  army  and  place  it  in 
a  position  adapted  for  defence. 

A  few  hours  later,  having  driven  our  left  wing  beyond 
Peschiera,  and  our  centre  across  the  Mincio,  Radetzky  took 


8o        AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A    VETERAN 

Valeggio.  Fortifying  himself  there,  he  established  his 
right  wing,  extending  it  past  Custoza  to  Sommacampagna. 
He  strongly  occupied  Monte  Torre  and  Staffalo,  opposite 
Villafranca,  where  the  king  had  insisted  on  placing  himself. 

Officers  and  men  passed  the  night  ready  for  the  battle, 
which  might  begin  at  any  moment.  Charles  Albert,  irreso- 
lute and  hesitating,  was  anxiously  awaiting  the  arrival  of 
Bava,  who  was  at  Governolo,  where  he  fought  a  brilliant 
action  on  the  17th  and  i8th,  and  could  not  reach  Villa- 
franca before  9.30  on  the  morning  of  the  24th.  He 
showed  great  abnegation,  unacquainted  as  he  was  with 
the  position  of  the  troops,  in  accepting  the  supreme  com- 
mand, immediately  handed  over  to  him. 

All  the  hills  opposite  Villafranca,  from  Monte  Torre 
to  Staffalo  and  Berrettara,  were  occupied  by  the  Austrians, 
so  near  to  us  that  we  saw  them  without  glasses.  Bava 
determined  on  an  immediate  attack,  sent  the  Duke  of 
Genoa  to  Sommacampagna,  and  ordered  the  Duke  of  Savoy 
to  storm  Monte  Torre.  With  splendid  dash  our  brave 
fellows  rushed  the  position,  and  before  night  the  tricolour 
flag  waved  from  the  heights  whence  the  enemy  had  been 
driven. 

The  haste  with  which  we  had  raised  the  blockade  of 
Mantua  and  the  usual  improvidence  and  irregularity  of 
headquarters  in  imparting  orders,  reacted  on  the  com- 
missariat. Hardly  any  rations  reached  us  during  the 
night,  and  the  men  had  not  sufficient  food  to  carry  them 
through  the  second  day's  struggle  on  the  heights  of 
Custoza. 

On  the  25th  our  line  of  battle  extended  from  Somma- 
campagna to  Valeggio,  the  centre  being  occupied  by  our 
division.  We  were  to  attack  the  Austrian  centre  at  Cus- 
toza ;  the  Duke  of  Genoa  to  recapture  Sommacampagna  ; 
and  the  king,  with  Bava,  intended  to  drive  the  enemy  from 
Valeggio. 


BATTLE  OF  CUSTOZA  8i 

At  daybreak  the  Duke  of  Savoy  left  Monte  Torre  for 
Custoza,  expecting  to  find  the  enemy.  They  were,  how- 
ever, drawn  up  at  the  foot  of  the  heights  which  they  had 
abandoned  during  the  night.  Victor  Emanuel  took  up 
his  position  on  the  highest  point,  above  a  castle  flanked  by 
a  group  of  cypress  trees  forming  part  of  the  large  park, 
and  I  extended  the  line  of  the  two  brigades  so  as  to  keep 
in  touch  with  the  Duke  of  Genoa  on  one  side  and  the 
troops  on  the  Valeggio  road  on  the  other.  About  1 1  a.m. 
the  Austrians  advanced  in  strong  force  and  attacked  the 
heights  towards  Berrettara,  aiming  especially  at  our  front, 
defended  by  artillery  to  the  right  and  left  of  the  cypress 
wood.  Heavy  cannonading  was  followed  by  repeated 
charges  of  infantry,  gallantly  repulsed  by  our  men. 

The  heat  was  intense.  Not  a  drop  of  water  could  be 
found  on  the  top  of  the  hill,  and  the  morning's  rations  had 
been  infinitesimal.  Our  men  dropped  from  fatigue,  sun- 
stroke, hunger,  and  thirst,  so  that  after  a  few  hours'  fight- 
ing the  companies  were  reduced  from  two  hundred  men  to 
fifty  or  sixty.  From  the  furious  and  repeated  attacks  of 
the  enemy  the  duke  and  I  concluded  that  he  intended, 
at  any  cost,  to  carry  our  position,  and  thus  cut  our  army 
in  two,  facilitating  his  operations  under  Valeggio  and  at 
Sommacampagna,  or,  at  least,  enabling  him  to  cut  off  the 
retreat  of  the  Duke  of  Genoa's  division. 

At  I  "30  Victor  Emanuel  sent  me  to  headquarters  to 
say  that  without  immediate  reinforcements  our  position 
could  not  be  held.  The  heat  was  suffocating,  and  I  could 
not  resist  drinking  at  the  first  rivulet,  dirty  though  it  was. 
In  twenty  minutes  I  found  Bava,  who,  with  the  king,  was 
in  a  field  within  range  of  the  enemy's  guns.  At  the  same 
moment  a  messenger  came  with  a  note  from  De  Sonnaz. 
His  troops  had  fought  on  the  22d  at  Rivoli,  on  the  23d  at 
Sona  and  Santa  Giustina,  and  after  leaving  Peschiera,  had 
marched  for  over  twelve  hours  with  the  intention  of  reach- 

F 


82         AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A    VETERAN 

ing  Borghetto  or  Volta  about  5  p.m.,  and  falling  on  the 
enemy's  rear.  On  reading  this  Bava  exhorted  me  to  use 
every  effort  to  hold  out,  as  not  only  could  he  not  send  us  help, 
but  he  was  anxiously  expecting  it  himself  from  De  Sonnaz. 
With  this  answer  I  galloped  back  to  Custoza  a  little  before 
3  p.m.  The  enemy's  cannon  was  sweeping  our  position  ; 
we  saw  them  below  preparing  for  a  fresh  assault,  and  our 
companies  were  reduced  by  one-half!  I  had  all  the  doors 
and  shutters  of  the  castle  taken  down  to  serve  as  litters 
to  transport  the  wounded,  as  fast  as  they  fell,  to  Villafranca. 
The  duke  determined  to  go  in  person  and  tell  Bava  and 
the  king  that  unless  reinforcements  were  sent  we  should 
have  to  evacuate  Custoza  before  we  succumbed  to  the  ever 
increasing  Austrian  forces.  He  handed  the  command 
of  the  division  over  to  me,  and  only  a  few  minutes  after 
his  departure  we  were  vehemently  attacked.  Once  more, 
shouting  '  Savoial  we  drove  the  enemy  down  the  hill  at 
the  point  of  the  bayonet. 

The  Austrians,  unaware  how  small  our  force  was,  pro- 
bably thought  that,  like  their  own,  it  had  been  renewed ; 
so  at  4*30  we  were  still  masters  of  the  position.  Im- 
patiently I  awaited  the  return  of  the  duke,  but  while 
continuing  preparations  to  resist  I  got  ready  for  a  retreat 
on  Gherla,  which  seemed  to  me  inevitable.  Fresh  Austrian 
columns  were  seen  advancing,  when  Count  Zamojsky,  a 
Pole  in  the  suite  of  Charles  Albert,  galloped  up  with  the 
order  to  retire.  Being  prepared,  we  were  able  to  withdraw 
before  the  arrival  of  the  enemy,  who  only  found  an  aban- 
doned position.  Worn  out,  they  did  not  follow  us,  and  the 
division,  ranged  in  order  of  battle  on  the  plain  of  Gherla, 
was  joined  by  the  duke,  with  orders  to  protect  the  retreat 
of  all  the  troops  coming  from  Valeggio.  Our  retreat  was 
undisturbed,  save  by  a  few  detachments  of  cavalry.  Even 
the  Austrians  did  not  know  how  to  follow  up  a  victory ! 

The  battle  was  lost  for  want  of  men.     Had  the  division, 


RETREAT  ON  GOITO  83 

uselessly  left  behind  at  Mantua,  been  brought  up,  reinforce- 
ments might  have  been  sent  to  the  divisions  of  the  Dukes 
of  Savoy  and  Genoa,  and  to  the  force  before  Valeggio. 

Late  in  the  evening  we  reached  Villafranca,  and  abun- 
dant rations  were  distributed  to  prepare  the  men  for  the 
march  and  expected  battle  next  day.  The  duke  and  I, 
tired  out,  lay  down  in  a  freshly-ploughed  field ;  it  rained 
all  night,  but  we  slept  too  well  to  feel  it,  and  were  wet 
through  and  stiff  next  morning.  There  was,  however,  no 
time  to  think  of  myself,  as  our  division  had  to  protect  the 
rear  during  the  retreat  on  Goito.  I  was  extremely  anxious, 
as  I  expected  the  enemy  would  attack  our  flank  from 
Valeggio,  or  our  rear  guard.  But  Radetzky  let  slip  the 
opportunity  to  crush  us,  and  our  flank  was  only  attacked 
once  by  cavalry,  easily  repulsed. 

To  our  surprise,  on  crossing  the  Mincio,  where  we  took 
up  a  position  fronting  the  river,  we  found  De  Sonnaz,  with 
his  men  utterly  exhausted.  It  was  reported  that,  on  reach- 
ing Volta  much  later  than  he  expected,  he  found  orders 
leaving  it  to  his  judgment  to  hold  the  place  or  abandon  it. 
He  chose  the  latter  course ;  why,  I  never  knew.  The  king 
was  very  angry,  as  the  Austrians  occupied  Volta  the  instant 
De  Sonnaz  left,  and  curtly  bade  him  go  back  and  re-take 
the  position. 

He  left  about  6  p.m.  with  the  brigade  Savoia,  on  the 
promise  that  the  brigade  Regina  should  follow  soon.  The 
attack  was  made  at  night,  and  half  way  up  the  hill  the 
confusion  was  terrible — so  great,  that  our  men  killed  each 
other  in  the  dark.  Nevertheless,  they  got  to  the  summit 
and  reached  the  piazza  in  front  of  the  church.  Here  the  Aus- 
trians, pouring  out  of  every  street,  overpowered  and  drove 
them  back,  the  promised  brigade  never  having  arrived. 

The  return  of  these  beaten  troops  had  a  most  dis- 
heartening effect  on  the  rest,  who,  that  very  morning, 
had  seen  contractors,  civil  servants,  representatives  of  pro- 


84        AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A   VETERAN 

visional  governments,  and  country  folk,  flying  panic-stricken 
at  the  announcement  of  the  Austrian  successes. 

Supplies  failed  entirely  on  the  27th.  The  staff  had 
nothing  but  green  cobs  of  maize  gathered  in  the  fields, 
which  they  dipped  in  brandy  and  water.  In  the  evening  the 
army  was  so  demoralised  that  the  king  called  a  council  of 
generals  for  8  o'clock  next  morning  to  propose  a  suspension 
of  hostilities.  Seeing  La  Marmora,  as  chief  of  the  staff  to 
the  Duke  of  Genoa,  preparing  to  attend  the  council,  I  was 
going  to  accompany  the  Duke  of  Savoy,  when  Bava  called 
me.  Expecting  to  be  engaged  for  some  time,  he  put  me 
in  command  of  all  the  troops  round  Goito,  with  orders  to 
place  part  in  line  of  battle  in  case  of  an  attack,  and  at  the 
same  time  to  make  preparations  for  a  probable  imminent 
retreat. 

While  I  was  carrying  out  his  orders,  the  Generals  Bes 
and  Rossi,  with  La  Marmora,  who  knew  some  of  the  Aus- 
trian commanders,  were  sent  to  the  enemy's  headquarters. 
Radetzky's  conditions  were  peremptory.  The  king  must 
retire  beyond  the  Adda,  give  back  Peschiera,  recall  his 
troops  from  the  Duchies,  and  immediately  treat  for  peace. 
Without  hesitation  the  king  refused. 

When  Bava  joined  me,  I  told  him  everything  was  ready 
for  retreating  across  the  Po,  which  seemed  our  wisest  course. 
By  putting  the  river  between  us  and  the  enemy,  and  pre- 
paring to  be  ready  at  any  moment  to  attack  his  flank,  we 
prevented  his  advance  on  Milan.  For  this  reason  I  had 
already  sent  several  columns  towards  Borgoforte. 

'  You  are  perfectly  right,'  he  exclaimed.  '  But  every- 
thing must  be  changed.  The  king  is  absolutely  determined 
to  retire  on  Milan.'  '  Then,'  I  replied,  '  we  shall  draw  the 
enemy  on,  and  be  powerless  to  impede  or  even  repel  him.' 
'  I  know,'  said  Bava ;  *  but  the  king  thinks  it  his  duty  to 
become  the  paladin  of  the  Milanese  and  lead  his  army 
under  their   walls.     A    chivalrous   idea,  if  you   like ;  but 


RETREAT  ON  MILAN  85 

it  will  probably  be  our  ruin,  and  he  will  not  understand 
this.' 

From  the  Mincio  we  retreated  to  the  Oglio  the  king, 
with  the  1st  corps,  marching  towards  Bozzolo ;  and  on  the 
morning  of  the  30th  the  army  was  under  Cremona,  which 
Charles  Albert  had  thought  of  defending.  When  he  ex- 
amined the  environs  of  the  city,  he  saw  it  was  impossible. 

At  Grotta  d'Adda  the  army  crossed  the  river  (Adda) 
on  a  bridge  of  boats  thrown  over  during  the  night.  The 
division  of  the  Duke  of  Savoy  formed  the  rearguard,  and 
the  bridge  was  broken  up  before  the  Austrians  arrived. 

Charles  Albert's  intention  was  to  defend  the  line  of  the 
Adda  as  far  as  Lodi.  Two  excellent  brigades,  three  bat- 
teries, and  three  squadrons  of  cavalry  had  been  sent  there 
by  Bava,  under  a  general  who  was  to  be  reinforced  by  the 
Lombard  division.  On  the  ist  August  we  heard  that  the 
Austrians,  protected  by  the  fire  of  an  admirably  placed 
battery,  were  throwing  a  bridge  over  the  Adda  opposite 
our  position,  and  that  the  general,  convinced  he  would  not 
be  able  to  resist,  had  retreated  on  Piacenza.  This  desertion 
of  his  post  displaced  our  right  wing  and  exposed  our  army 
to  be  taken  in  the  rear.  The  general  probably  thought,  as 
did  many  others,  that  the  army  would  retreat  on  Piacenza  ; 
but  his  orders  were  precise,  and  by  not  carrying  them  out 
he  placed  us  under  the  necessity  of  retiring  beyond  the 
Adda  towards  Milan. 

Our  division  left  Grotta  d'Adda  for  Codogno,  where  we 
hoped  to  pass  the  night ;  but  orders  came  to  continue  the 
march  towards  S.  Angelo  and  Borghetto.  All  that  night, 
all  next  morning,  and  all  through  the  hottest  hours  of  that 
sultry  2d  of  August,  our  poor  soldiers  tramped  on  towards 
Milan.  On  the  3d  we  were  in  the  suburbs.  Bava  disposed 
the  troops  in  a  semi-circle,  extending  from  Chiesarossa  and 
Naviglio  di  Pavia  on  the  right  to  Porta  Orientale  on  the 
left.     The  division  of  the  Duke  of  Savoy  was  encamped 


86        AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A    VETERAN 

on  the  bastions  of  Porta  Renza  (now  Porta  Venezia), 
reaching  beyond  Porta  Romana.  The  king  established  his 
headquarters  in  a  small  inn  at  S.  Giorgio  outside  Porta 
Romana.  To  defend  the  Milanese,  Charles  Albert  had 
placed  the  army  in  jeopardy,  and  staked  his  kingdom  and 
throne.  Believing  in  the  fine  promises  of  the  Lombard  repre- 
sentatives, he  had  come  to  Milan  expecting  to  find  the  city 
fortified  and  well  provisioned.  On  his  arrival,  Generals 
Chiodo  and  Rossi,  who  had  preceded  us,  met  him  with  the 
news  that  no  preparations  had  been  made  for  the  troops. 
The  city  was  silent  and  deserted  ;  the  few  inhabitants  who 
remained  were  cold,  disappointed,  and  reproachful. 

At  daybreak  on  the  4th  the  large  Austrian  army  came 
in  sight,  and  the  first  shots  were  fired  about  10  a.m.  The  king 
at  once,  as  though  he  courted  death,  threw  himself  in  the 
thickest  of  the  fight.  The  Porta  Romana  had  been  barri- 
caded, and  from  the  bastions  the  Grenadiers  kept  the  enemy 
at  bay  till  the  evening,  when  they  gained  ground,  and  at 
nightfall  had  advanced  close  under  the  ramparts.  S. 
Giorgio,  the  headquarters  of  the  king,  was  in  the  line  occu- 
pied by  them,  so  he  was  forced  to  enter  the  city,  and  took 
up  his  abode  in  the  Greppi  Palace. 

The  duke  and  I,  after  visiting  Charles  Albert,  returned 
to  our  men  and  passed  the  night  on  a  heap  of  stones  by 
the  roadside.  Meanwhile  the  king,  by  the  advice  of  some 
of  the  generals  summoned  to  a  hasty  council,  had  sent 
two  of  them  to  Radetzky  late  in  the  evening,  offering  to 
surrender  the  city  on  the  condition  that  the  lives  and  pro- 
perty of  the  inhabitants  should  be  respected,  and  that  the 
Sardinian  army  was  allowed  to  retire  unmolested  to  the 
right  bank  of  the  Ticino.  Radetzky  immediately  accepted 
the  offer  made  by  Charles  Albert  under  the  stress  of  dire 
necessity.  The  main  park  of  artillery  had  been  sent  to 
Piacenza;  the  provisions  of  the  smaller  parks  had  been 
exhausted  during   the  battle;   there  was  no  ammunition 


CAPITULATION  OF  MILAN  87 

in  the  city,  and  very  little  powder.  The  supply  of  pro- 
visions was  barely  sufficient  for  three  days,  and  no 
preparations  had  been  made  by  the  provisional  govern- 
ment of  Milan  for  defending  the  town  or  victualling  the 
army.     Resistance  was  therefore  impossible. 

As  soon  as  the  terrible  news  of  the  capitulation  was 
known  the  whole  city  rose.  Incited  by  the  Mazzinian 
Republicans  and  the  Anarchists,  a  howling  mob  assembled 
round  the  Greppi  Palace,  hurling  abuse  at  the  king  and 
his  officers. 

Towards  mid-day  I  begged  the  duke  to  allow  me  to 
take  a  battalion  and  liberate  the  king.  Knowing  the  usual 
cowardice  of  a  mob,  I  was  sure  the  sight  of  our  Grenadiers 
would  be  sufficient  to  disperse  them.  But  the  duke  re- 
fused, fearing  lest  maddened  by  the  sight  of  the  troops, 
they  might  invade  the  Greppi  Palace,  abandoned  by  the 
Civic  Guard,  and  endanger  the  life  of  the  king. 

With  great  difficulty  Bava  escaped  out  of  the  palace 
in  the  afternoon,  and  came  to  concert  with  the  Duke  of 
Savoy  what  measures  to  take  in  case  the  enemy,  hearing 
of  our  internal  discords,  should  attempt  an  attack.  He 
said  the  Duke  of  Genoa,  who  went  to  see  his  father,  was 
imprisoned  with  him,  and  that  the  mob  had  fired  at  the 
windows  of  the  palace  and  at  the  balcony  when  the  king 
showed  himself;  while  those  inside  left  him  no  peace,  and 
at  last  induced  him  to  say,  'Well,  as  you  desire  it,  we 
will  continue  the  struggle.' 

Continue  the  struggle !  Without  artillery,  money,  or 
food,  and  after  an  armistice  had  been  asked  for  and 
granted !  Yet  even  Bava,  to  whom  Charles  Albert 
turned  for  advice,  had  answered  that  war  with  the 
Austrians  was  preferable  to  tearing  each  other  to  pieces 
under  their  eyes. 

At  nightfall,  when  the  city  seemed  calmer,  Victor 
Emanuel  allowed  me  to  go  with  a  battalion  of  Grenadiers 


88        AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A    VETERAN 

to  the  king's  aid.  I  took  Lieutenant  Piati,  a  Veronese,  with 
me,  as  he  knew  Milan  well  and  could  guide  us  by  side 
streets.  At  Porta  Renza  we  heard  that  Colonel  La  Marmora, 
with  a  company  of  Bersaglieri,  had  just  left  on  the  same 
errand  as  ourselves,  and  determined  to  take  an  opposite 
direction  in  order,  if  necessary,  to  take  the  mob  between 
two  fires. 

We  arrived  at  the  Greppi  Palace  as  the  king  crossed 
the  threshold.  He  was  on  foot,  deadly  pale,  and  aged  in 
face  and  figure.  He  held  his  sword  tight  under  his  arm, 
and,  when  he  saw  me,  said,  'Ah,  mon  cher  La  Rocca, 
quelle  journee,  quelle  journ^e.' 

I  shall  never  forget  the  tone  of  his  voice. 

He  ordered  me  to  tell  his  son  to  come  and  meet  him,  and 
when  I  returned  with  the  duke  we  found  Bava,  who  had  also 
brought  troops.  These,  with  the  Grenadiers  and  Bersaglieri, 
formed  an  escort ;  and  Bava  begged  the  king  to  take  a 
few  hours'  rest  at  his  quarters  in  the  Calchi-Taeggi  College. 
The  duke  and  I  then  returned  to  ours — the  heap  of  stones 
by  the  roadside. 

At  daybreak  the  king  mounted  his  horse  and,  followed 
by  the  army,  left  the  city  by  Porta  Vercellina.  Taking 
three  different  roads,  we  began  the  march  towards  Pied- 
mont. 

The  Austrians  entered  Milan  on  the  6th,  the  city  being 
made  over  to  them  by  Major  Robert  Morozzo,  my  brother, 
commanding  one  of  the  two  battalions  of  the  Grenadier 
Guards,  which  had  been  left  in  charge  outside  Porta 
Romana. 


CHAPTER   VIII 

END  OF    1848.      BEGINNING  OF    1 849 

\ngevano — Armistice  signed  at  Milan — General  Bava's  Account  of  the  Cam- 
paign— Is  dismissed  and  succeeded  by  General  Czarnowsky — His  Plans 
— I  am  named  Major-General — Our  Retreat  on  Novara — Hard  Fight- 
ing at  Bicocca — We  are  driven  back  on  Novara — Charles  Albert 
abdicates — Victor  Emanuel  becomes  King — I  rally  Fugitives — Am 
called  to  Turin  by  Victor  Emanuel,  and  become  Minister  of  War. 

Our  division  left  Milan  for  Vigevano,  followed  by  all 
those  who  had  participated  in  the  '  five  days  '  ^  of  March, 
and  the  revolutionary  movements  of  the  following  months, 
or  who  had  fought  in  our  ranks  as  volunteers.  So  little 
did  they  trust  the  promises  of  the  Austrians,  that  they 
preferred  condemning  their  families  to  exile.  Women  and 
small  children  were  seated  on  the  artillery  waggons  and 
even  on  the  cannon,  and  the  burning  August  sun  added 
to  the  misery  of  our  march.  But,  once  across  the  river, 
things  changed  for  the  better.  We  were  at  home.  At 
Vigevano  one  of  the  best  houses  had  been  assigned  to 
the  duke  and  his  staff,  and  as  soon  as  I  could  leave  him 
I  went  in  search  of  a  haberdasher's  shop.  In  the  con- 
fusion of  the  last  few  days  our  baggage  had  disappeared, 

',^  On  the  l8th  March  the  Revolution  burst  out  in  Milan.  During  the 
night  of  the  19th  seventeen  hundred  barricades  were  erected  in  the  streets  ; 
on  the  2ist  the  palaces  of  the  viceroy  and  of  the  police,  and  the  cathedral  fell 
into  the  hands  of  the  people.  There  was  fighting  in  every  street,  and  the 
Croats  committed  horrible  outrages  on  women  and  children.  On  the  night 
of  the  22d  the  citadel  was  set  on  fire  by  the  Austrians,  and  Radetzky  quitted 
the  city  with  his  troops. — Translator's  Note. 

89 


90        AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A    VETERAN 

and  since  my  arrival  on  the  ramparts  of  Milan  I  had  not 
changed  my  clothes.  The  sensation  of  a  clean  shirt  was 
delightful. 

As  soon  as  the  king  arrived  he  was  besieged  by 
deputations  and  politicians ;  everyone  wanted  to  condole, 
advise  and  suggest.  Casati,  President  of  the  Council,  and 
Count  Borromeo  visited  the  king  to  express,  in  the  name 
of  many  Milanese,  their  sorrow  at  the  scenes  which  had 
occurred  under  his  windows ;  and  the  king  assured  them 
that  he  believed  the  mob  was  composed  of  strangers 
directed  by  the  Republican  party.  Be  that  as  it  may, 
I  am  impartial  enough  to  understand  the  anger  of  the 
Milanese  at  seeing  their  city  once  more  in  the  possession 
of  the  Austrians,  whom  they  had  driven  out  five  months 
before.  Still,  they  had  no  right  to  lay  the  whole  blame 
on  Charles  Albert  and  the  Piedmontese  army,  in  which,  I 
must  confess,  there  existed  deep  and  undisguised  indig- 
nation against  the  Lombards. 

The  armistice  was  signed  at  Milan  on  the  9th  August. 
Charles  Albert  relinquished  Peschiera,  Lombardy,  Parma, 
Piacenza,  Modena  and  Venice,  from  which  places  all 
Italian  troops  were  to  be  immediately  withdrawn.  The 
armistice  was  to  last  six  weeks,  with  power  to  prolong 
it  indefinitely  by  mutual  assent,  or  to  renew  hostilities 
after  a  week's  warning. 

The  king  transferred  his  headquarters  from  Vigevano 
to  Alessandria,  and  soon  after  went  to  Turin,  leaving 
Bava  in  supreme  command.  The  Duke  of  Savoy  had 
established  his  headquarters  at  Valenza  for  the  winter, 
and  sent  me  almost  daily  to  confer  with  the  commander- 
in-chief,  who  knew  and  liked  me,  treating  me  as  a  friend 
rather  than  a  subordinate.  Bava  was  profoundly  hurt  by 
the  criticisms  and  accusations  of  the  common  herd, 
which  made  no  allowances  for  his  exceptional  position 
with    Charles    Albert,    who    often    obliged    him,    as    at 


SEARCHING  FOR  A  COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF  91 

Custoza,  to  assume  the  command  of  an  army  already- 
placed  by  others  in  a  badly  chosen  position. 

The  ministry — Alfieri,  Revel,  Pinelli,  with  General 
Dabormida  as  minister  of  war — and  those  immediately 
round  the  king,  suggested  that  the  commander  of  the 
next  campaign  should  be  one  who  had  held  no  command 
in  the  last  war,  or,  better  still,  a  foreigner.  Marshal 
Bugeaud,  who  had  distinguished  himself  in  Africa,  was 
mentioned  ;  failing  him,  Changarnier  or  Lamorici^re,  and 
so  on,  down  to  the  youngest  of  the  French  generals. 
Alphonse  La  Marmora,  a  great  friend  of  Dabormida, 
accepted  the  arduous  task  of  going  to  beg  a  commander 
for  a  beaten  and  disheartened  army,  whose  confidence 
in  its  old  commanders  was  thus  utterly  destroyed.  His 
mission  was  a  failure;  and  before  he  returned  to  Turin 
a  new  ministry,  with  Gioberti  at  its  head,  was  in  power — 
the  third  since  the  armistice. 

General  Czarnowsky,  a  Pole,  was  sent  to  Alessandria 
as  chief  of  the  staff  to  Bava,  who  said  to  me  next  day, 
*  They  have  sent  me  a  Pole,  a  perfect  monkey,  small, 
ugly,  with  the  voice  of  an  eunuch,  as  chief  of  the  staff,  in 
case  hostilities  should  be  resumed.  You,  who  know  what 
the  duties  of  a  head  of  the  staff  are,  can  perhaps  tell  me 
what  I  am  to  do  with  a  foreigner  who  does  not  know  the 
country,  the  language,  the  officers,  or  the  men.' 

Soon  after  the  storm  burst,  which  Bava  drew  upon 
himself  by  publishing  his  account  of  the  campaign  of 
1848,  written  in  reply  to  a  circular  from  the  minister  of 
war,  Dabormida,  to  all  the  generals  in  command.  I  also 
received  one,  and  related  the  general  movements  of  our 
division,  and  the  actions  at  Pastrengo  and  Custoza  led  by 
myself.     The  duke  signed  the  former,  I  the  latter. 

Bava's  relation  created  considerable  sensation,  and 
was  blamed  for  the  extreme  severity  of  some  of  his 
criticisms  on   soldiers  and   officers.      The  scandal   deter- 


92        AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A    VETERAN 

mined  the  ministry  to  take  a  step  which  had  already 
been  mooted.  The  minister  of  war  ordered  him  to  hand 
over  the  command  to  General  Czarnowsky,  and  at  the 
same  time  Gioberti,  President  of  the  Council,  wrote  a 
private  letter,  expressing  sorrow  at  being  obliged  to 
dispense  with  his  services  on  account  of  the  stir  made 
by  his  book. 

Gioberti's  ministry  fell  a  few  days  later,  to  be  replaced 
by  one  in  favour  of  war  at  any  cost.  General  Chiodo, 
one  of  the  first  pupils  of  the  polytechnic  school  instituted 
by  the  French,  was  President  of  the  Council  with  the 
portfolios  of  War  and  Marine.  He  knew  little  about 
military  matters,  and,  like  the  rest  of  his  party,  chiefly 
lawyers,  thought  everything  must  go  well  with  a  foreigner 
as  commander-in-chief.  Czarnowsky  was  proposed  to  the 
king  by  his  countryman  Zamojsky,  whom  I  have  already 
mentioned  during  the  campaign  of  1848.  Had  he  pos- 
sessed all  the  military  qualities  which  he  lacked,  he 
would  have  failed  in  reorganising  such  an  army  as  ours 
then  was,  composed  of  discordant  elements,  and  unpre- 
pared for  entering  on  a  campaign.  The  ministry  which 
pushed  king  and  nation  into  war  assumed  a  tremendous 
responsibility.  They  risked  the  future,  not  only  of  Italy, 
but  of  Piedmont,  which,  once  our  troops  were  annihilated, 
might  have  ceased  to  be  a  European  state,  and  become  a 
Lombard  province  of  the  Austrian  empire. 

Recruits  had  been  trained  during  the  armistice,  volun- 
teers had  joined  from  Lombardy  and  other  parts  of  Italy, 
and  the  regiments  had  been  augmented  from  eighteen 
to  twenty-three ;  but  everything  was  in  disorder,  all 
ranks  were  disheartened  and  utterly  averse  to  renewed 
hostilities.  Ten  or  more  generals  had  left  the  service, 
and  there  was  a  dearth  of  officers  to  instruct  the  raw 
troops. 

A  few  days  after  General  Czarnowsky  assumed   the 


THE  ARMISTICE  IS  DENOUNCED  93 

command  he  came  to  Valenza  to  pay  his  respects  to  the 
heir  of  the  throne.  The  duke  sent  me  to  receive  the 
general  while  he  finished  some  work  he  had  on  hand, 
and  my  reception  was  not  a  warm  one,  I  liked  and 
esteemed  Bava,  and  the  presence  of  this  Pole  as  com- 
mander-in-chief of  Piedmontese  troops  seemed  to  me  a 
gratuitous  insult  to  the  army  I  belonged  to.  He  did 
not  notice  my  coldness,  and  at  once  began  to  talk 
about  his  plans  for  the  approaching  campaign.  I  soon 
saw  that  he  would  repeat  the  errors  which  had  already 
been  committed  on  the  Mincio — too  extended  a  posi- 
tion and  a  lack  of  reserves.  He  talked  of  occupying 
the  right  bank  of  the  Ticino,  from  the  Po  under  Pavia 
to  the  Lago  Maggiore,  and  of  sending  small  detachments 
on  to  the  right  bank  of  the  Po  to  confront  the  Austrians 
in  case  they  tried  to  enter  Piedmont ;  but  all  was  based 
on  the  idea  that  they  would  start  from  Milan.  As  he 
spoke  I  had  a  presentiment  of  coming  misfortune, 
and  he  said,  '  Vous  n'avez  pas  I'air  d'approuver  mes 
projets.'  I  had  barely  answered,  '  II  ne  m'appartient 
pas  de  les  critiquer,'  when  he  was  summoned  by  the 
duke,  to  whom  he  repeated  the  same  story.  It  was 
like  a  lesson  learned  by  heart,  which  he  recited  to  all 
those  he  thought  had  any  authority.  If  they  talked 
about  it  to  others  it  was  more  than  likely  that  Radetzky 
knew  the  whole  plan  before  the  campaign  began. 

On  the  1 2th  March  1849  Major  R.  Cadorna  was  sent 
to  denounce  the  armistice  for  the  20th.  On  the  i6th 
I  was  summoned  by  the  king  to  Alessandria,  where  he 
had  just  arrived  with  the  new  commander-in-chief.  His 
Majesty  told  me  I  had  been  named  major-general  in 
command  of  the  brigade  Acqui,  composed  of  the  17th 
and  23d  regiments.  I  bowed  my  thanks,  but  begged 
to  be  allowed  to  refuse  promotion,  and  to  remain  with 
the  duke.     The  king  frowned  and  insisted.     So  miserable 


94        AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A    VETERAN 

was  I  at  the  thought  of  leaving  Victor  Emanuel  just  as 
war  was  declared,  that  I  ventured  to  express  my  fears 
for  the  issue  of  the  campaign.  Charles  Albert  listened 
and  replied,  *Vous  vous  trompez,  tout  ira  bien.  C'est 
moi  qui  vous  le  dit'.  And  as  I  again  begged  not  to  be 
promoted,  '  Plus  un  mot.  Allez  tout  de  suite  prendre 
le  commandement  de  votre   brigade ;  je  vous  I'ordonne.' 

On  paper  our  army  consisted  of  over  one  hundred  and 
twenty  thousand  men,  but  our  real  number  was  under 
eighty  thousand,  while  Radetzky  had  ninety  thousand. 

At  mid-day  on  the  20th  March,  Czarnowsky,  absolutely 
ignorant  of  the  enemy's  movements,  but  having  made  up 
his  mind  that  they  would  march  towards  Magenta,  crossed 
the  Mincio  in  that  direction  with  Charles  Albert.  Instead 
of  the  Austrian  outposts  he  expected,  only  terrified  and 
discontented  inhabitants  were  seen,  who  reported  that 
large  masses  of  Austrian  troops  had  gone  towards  Pavia 
some  days  before.  In  fact,  at  that  very  hour,  60,000 
Austrians  were  passing  the  Ticino  on  three  bridges  to 
occupy  Piedmontese  territory  in  the  direction  of  Mortara. 
Only  a  few  troops  of  the  Lombard  division  confronted 
this  invasion,  among  them  the  battalion  of  students  from 
Milan  and  Triest,  who,  under  Lucien  Manara,  defended 
the  position  of  Cava  with  the  greatest  bravery.  On  the 
17th  General  Ramorino  had  already  received  orders  to 
place  the  whole  Lombard  division  on  the  left  bank  of  the 
Po ;  but  he  disobeyed,  and  kept  his  men  on  the  right. 

I  reached  Montara  early  on  the  21st,  and  found  the 
troops  in  marching  order.  My  brigade  was  in  column,  so, 
instead  of  putting  them  in  line  to  receive  me  as  is  the 
custom,  Bes  rode  with  me  through  the  ranks  to  introduce 
me  to  my  men.  Their  appearance  was  satisfactory ;  one 
regiment  was  composed  of  old  soldiers,  the  other  of 
recruits  instructed  by  Colonel  Cialdini.  After  a  short 
march,  Austrian  outposts  were  reported ;  so,  skirting  Vige- 


RETREA  T  ON  NO  VARA  95 

vano,  we  entered  a  large  farm  surrounded  by  walls,  which 
we  proceeded  to  loophole,  while  Bes  drew  up  the  division 
in  order  of  battle,  to  arrest,  partially  at  all  events,  the 
enemy's  advance  on  Mortara.  My  brigade  was  thus  in 
the  first  line  of  the  attack,  to  which  the  17th  opposed  a 
steady  and  gallant  resistance.  The  23d  charged  the 
enemy's  infantry  with  the  bayonet,  but  as  they  tried  to 
surround  us,  I  ordered  my  men  to  form  squares.  In  one 
of  these  the  major  fell  mortally  wounded,  and  the  flagstaflf 
was  broken.  In  an  instant  the  square  broke.  Cialdini 
and  I  threw  ourselves  among  the  men,  and  by  dint  of 
blows  with  the  flat  of  our  swords  stopped  their  flight.  It 
was  a  momentary  thing,  and  the  men  fought  well  after- 
wards. Late  in  the  afternoon  the  brigade  Casale,  which 
had  lost  its  way,  came  to  our  aid,  and  the  brigade  Savoia, 
excellent  troops,  and  so  full  of  dash  that  notwithstand- 
ing the  large  reinforcements  perpetually  received  by  the 
enemy,  we  had  hopes  of  converting  an  undecisive  but 
brilliant  action  into  a  great  victory.  But  Czarnowsky,  with 
Charles  Albert,  came  from  Vigevano  and  decided  the 
decisive  action  had  better  be  fought  next  day.  At  the 
same  time,  bad  news  came  from  Mortara,  where  the 
divisions  of  Durando  and  the  Duke  of  Savoy  had  been 
beaten.  Fearing  to  be  taken  in  the  rear,  Czarnowsky 
resolved  on  retreating  towards  Novara,  where  he  sent 
fifty  thousand  men  to  cut  Radetzky's  road.  We  passed 
the  night  on  the  farm,  and  Charles  Albert  insisted  on 
sleeping  in  the  midst  of  the  Savoy  brigade  on  the  bare 
ground.  I  suppose  he  was  very  tired,  for  he  slept  so  pro- 
foundly that  the  constant  passage  of  officers  and  men,  who 
came  to  look  at  his  tall,  fateful  figure  and  worn,  pale  face, 
did  not  wake  him. 

A  little  after  dawn  on  the  22d  March  we  began  our 
march  on  Novara,  and  only  arrived  under  the  walls  of  the 
town  at  nightfall.     On  the  way  I  had  to  pass,  at  the  head 


96        AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A    VETERAN 

of  my  brigade,  before  the  king  and  Czarnowsky.  In  spite 
of  the  change  of  uniform,  Charles  Albert  recognised  me  at 
once  and,  with  the  old  gesture  used  at  Racconigi  years 
ago,  beckoned  me  to  his  side.  Complimenting  me  on  the 
behaviour  of  my  men  the  previous  day,  he  continued,  *  Ne 
vous  avais-je  pas  dit  a  Alexandrie,  La  Rocca,  que  tout 
irait  bien  ? '  These  were  the  last  words  I  heard  Charles 
Albert  speak,  and  it  was  the  last  time  I  saw  him.  For 
many  years  he  was  a  strange  enigma  to  me  and  to  many 
about  him.  Only  in  1847  did  we  begin  to  have  an  inkling 
of  the  true  reason  for  his  contradictory  conduct — a  fixed 
resolution  to  free  Italy  from  the  Austrian  rule ;  a  resolu- 
tion carefully  hid  from  others,  because  he  did  not  think 
the  time  for  acting  had  yet  come. 

We  camped  under  the  walls  of  Novara,  and  at  dawn 
the  army  was  in  order  of  battle.  The  Duke  of  Savoy 
passed  close  to  me  on  the  way  to  his  position,  riding  a 
wretched  horse  belonging  to  his  household.  On  seeing 
me  he  exclaimed,  '  You  don't  know  how  I  wished  for  you 
yesterday.  We  were  utterly  beaten  at  Mortara ;  all  my 
equipage  and  my  horses  were  taken,  so  I  had  to  send  for 
this  brute,  in  order  not  to  lead  the  troops  on  foot.  Let  us 
hope  to-day  will  not  be  a  repetition  of  yesterday.'  I  did 
not  see  him  again  for  five  days,  when,  after  our  defeat  and 
the  abdication  of  Charles  Albert,  he  sent  for  me  at  Turin 
to  entrust  me  with  the  Ministry  for  War. 

On  the  23d  March  about  fifty  thousand  men  were 
drawn  up  in  order  of  battle  a  kilometre  to  the  south  of 
Novara.  Three  divisions  in  two  lines  covered  three  kilo- 
metres— Durano  on  the  right,  Perrone  on  the  left,  and  Bes, 
to  which  my  brigade  belonged,  in  the  centre.  Some 
battalions  of  sharp-shooters  covered  my  front.  The 
divisions  of  the  Duke  of  Genoa  and  the  Duke  of  Savoy 
were  in  reserve,  the  first  on  the  high  land  behind  Bicocca, 
a  small  village  on  the  very  summit  of  the  hill ;  the  second, 


HARD  FIGHTING  A  T  BICOCCA  97 

behind  Durazzo,  was  stationed  between  the  place  d'armes 
and  the  road  to  Vercelh*.  Our  position  could  only  be 
turned  at  a  considerable  distance  towards  Trecate  or 
Vercelli.  The  disposition  of  our  troops  was  excellent ; 
but,  as  in  1848,  and  later  in  1866,  the  quarter-master- 
general's  staff  was  absolutely  in  the  dark  as  to  the  move- 
ments of  the  enemy. 

Both  Radetzky  and  Czarnowsky  had  the  same  design 
of  concentrating  their  troops  between  Novara  and  Vercelli, 
but  we  had  outmarched  the  Austrians  on  the  22d ;  so 
their  first  troops,  under  General  d'Aspre,  who  had  no  idea 
how  large  our  force  was,  only  appeared  in  sight  about 
10  a.m.  in  the  direction  of  Olengo.  He  deployed  the 
division  of  the  Archduke  Albert  in  front  of  our  left  at 
Bicocca,  and  in  front  of  Perrone's  division ;  then,  seeing 
how  numerous  his  adversary  was,  sent  in  haste  to  warn 
Radetzky  and  ask  for  reinforcements.  Czarnowsky,  on  the 
contrary,  never  noticed  the  smallness  of  the  Austrian  force, 
and,  instead  of  immediately  assuming  the  offensive,  stood 
on  the  defensive,  and  only  pushed  forward  by  degrees  the 
troops  of  the  divisions  of  the  Duke  of  Genoa  and  Perrone 
towards  Bicocca. 

The  Piedmontese  army  opposed  a  stolid  resistance  to 
the  enemy's  attack ;  and  Bicocca  was  lost  and  retaken  five 
times.  General  Passalaqua,  commanding  the  Piedmont 
brigade,  wrested  several  positions  from  the  Austrian,  and 
fell  mortally  wounded,  while  the  Duke  of  Genoa  had  three 
horses  killed  under  him.  The  enemy  was  driven  out  of 
Olengo,  and  at  2  p.m.  d'Aspre,  not  having  yet  been  rein- 
forced, retired  from  all  his  positions.  About  an  hour  later, 
his  reinforcements  began  to  arrive  in  small  quantities,  when 
Czarnowsky  ought  to  have  attacked  vigorously  and  driven 
the  enemy  back  across  the  Ticino.  But  he  stood  the 
whole  day  on  the  defensive,  moving  forward  small  bodies 
of  troops  at  intervals.     Not  only  did  he  let  slip  the  favour- 

G 


98        AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A    VETERAN 

able  moment,  but  he  recalled  the  Duke  of  Genoa,  who 
had  driven  d'Aspre  beyond  Castellazzo.  This  mistaken 
movement  gave  fresh  courage  to  the  Austrian  general,  who 
immediately  reoccupied  Castellazzo.  At  that  moment 
General  Perrone,  encouraging  part  of  his  division,  which 
had  given  way,  to  advance,  received  the  wound  of  which 
he  died  two  days  later. 

The  Austrians  were  gradually  gaining  ground  when 
Czarnowsky  ordered  up  two  regiments  of  the  reserve,  and 
one  (the  17th)  of  our  division,  and  again  the  enemy  was 
forced  to  retire.  But  General  Thurn  now  came  up  with 
large  reinforcements.  Crossing  by  the  Bridge  of  Agogna, 
where  only  one  detachment  of  cavalry  was  posted. 
Colonel  Montevecchio  was  unable  to  stop  the  advance  of 
so  large  a  force.  Radetzky,  who  was  on  a  small  hill  on 
the  Mortara  road,  watching  the  battle,  sent  orders  to  attack 
Bicocca  vigorously  in  front,  and  only  then  did  Czarnowsky 
resolve  to  move  forward  on  the  front  and  right.  While 
Bes  and  Durando  pushed  back  the  weak  body  of  Austrians 
that  fronted  them,  Czarnowsky  hastened  towards  Bicocca. 
But  the  enemy  had  already  taken  Castellazzo  and  the 
surrounding  positions,  and  entered  Bicocca.  In  vain 
Czarnowsky  attempted  to  reconquer  it ;  in  vain  the  Duke 
of  Genoa,  who  having  had  his  horses  killed  under  him 
was  fighting  on  foot,  made  a  desperate  effort  with  only 
three  battalions  ;  Bicocca  had  to  be  abandoned  to  the 
enemy.  Our  army,  attacked  in  front  and  on  both  flanks, 
was  driven  back  on  Novara.  The  crush  and  confusion  at 
the  city  gate  was  terrible,  of  which,  fortunately,  the  enemy 
did  not  take  advantage,  but,  halting  at  some  distance  from 
the  walls,  bivouacked  for  the  night  under  pouring  rain.  By 
the  defeat  of  our  left,  the  centre  and  the  right  were  placed 
in  a  most  perilous  position,  so  Colonel  Alexander  La  Mar- 
mora (chief  of  the  staff)  took  it  on  himself  to  order  a  retreat 
before  receiving  orders  from  Czarnowsky.      The  engage- 


ABDICATION  OF  CHARLES  ALBERT        99 

ment  of  our  division  had  hardly  begun  when  the  aide-de- 
camp of  Czarnowsky  came  to  tell  Bes  to  retire.  '  In  what 
direction  ? '  asked  the  general.  '  I  don't  know,'  was  the 
answer.  Bes  consulted  with  us  and  replied, '  Tell  whoever 
sent  you  that  I  shall  retreat  in  the  direction  of  the  Agogna, 
and  thence  to  the  province  of  Biella.'  Then,  turning  to  me, 
he  added,  '  Will  you,  who  only  left  the  staff  a  few  days  ago, 
resume  your  old  functions  for  the  moment  and  be  our 
guide  ? '  I  accepted  and,  taking  a  battalion  of  infantry,  a 
squadron  of  cavalry,  a  battery  of  artillery  and  a  company 
of  Bersaglieri,  reconnoitered  in  the  direction  of  Romagnano. 
*  I  will  collect  one  division,'  said  Bes,  *  and  before  long  will 
join  you.'  At  about  8  p.m.  the  body  of  the  army  retreated 
in  dire  confusion.  The  soldiers,  who  had  eaten  nothing  all 
day,  dispersed  in  the  city,  sacking  the  bakers'  shops  and 
eating-houses.  Our  defeat  was  utter.  Charles  Albert,  who, 
towards  the  end  of  the  day,  had  in  vain  courted  death,  by 
exposing  himself  to  the  enemy's  fire  on  the  old  city  bas- 
tions, was  taken  almost  by  force  by  General  G.  Durando,  his 
aide-de-camp,  to  the  headquarters.  There  he  called  a  few 
generals,  the  minister  Cadorna,  and  the  representatives  of 
the  provisional  governments  who  were  in  camp,  and  laid 
Marshal  Radetzky's  hard  conditions  before  them.  The 
king  could  not  bring  himself  to  accept  them,  so  resolved  to 
abdicate  in  favour  of  his  son  Victor  Emanuel,  hoping  that 
he  might  succeed  in  obtaining  better  terms.  That  same 
night  Charles  Albert  left  with  a  passport  in  the  name  of 
Count  of  Barge,  accompanied  by  a  cabinet  courier  and  a 
valet. 

I  was  meanwhile  proceeding  in  the  direction  of  Biella 
with  about  eight  hundred  infantry  and  two  hundred  cavalry. 
After  an  hour's  march  on  the  road  leading  to  Romagnano 
I  halted  to  give  the  division  time  to  come  up.  Fugitives  of 
every  arm  were  perpetually  passing,  flying  more  for  want 
of  a  leader  than  from  fear.   With  the  aid  of  Captain  Cugia,  I 


lOO      A  UTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A    VETERAN 

stopped  and  rallied  them,  and  in  a  few  hours  found  myself 
at  the  head  of  several  thousand.  At  last  Bes  arrived,  but 
without  the  troops  and  without  his  head  of  the  staff,  who 
had  remained  behind  to  guide  the  division.  We  waited  for 
them  in  vain.  By  Czarnowsky's  orders  they  had  entered 
Novara,  surrounded  on  three  sides  by  the  enemy,  and  thence 
retreated  to  Momo.  At  daybreak  we  reached  Romagnano, 
fed  our  men  as  well  as  we  could,  and  at  mid-day  we  arrived 
at  Biella,  where  Bes  called  a  council  of  war  of  all  the  officers 
to  deliberate  on  what  we  should  do.  Opinions  differed  ; 
some  proposed  returning  to  Novara,  others  to  march  to 
Turin,  while  Bes  wished  to  gain  the  Val  d'Aosta  in  Savoy, 
and  raise  the  population  to  fight  the  Austrians.  He  made 
sure  that  the  army  had  laid  down  their  arms,  and  that  the 
whole  country  behind  us  was  in  the  hands  of  the  enemy. 
From  the  first  I  had  advocated  the  necessity  of  recon- 
noitering  to  find  out  what  had  happened  in  our  rear,  and 
at  last  offered  to  go  myself  Our  horses  were  worn  out,  so, 
with  the  help  of  the  syndic,  I  got  a  small  gig  with  a  bad 
horse,  and,  with  Major  d'Auvare,  returned  by  the  road  we 
had  come  by.  It  was  snowing  hard,  and  after  some  hours 
we  met,  near  Cossato,  the  regiment  of  Novara  cavalry  under 
Colonel  Maffei.  He  reported  Austrian  troops  a  little  to 
his  rear,  and  that  we  should  be  taken  prisoners  if  we  went 
further.  Returning  to  Biella,  we  found  that  Bes  had 
already  left  taking  our  horses  with  him.  So,  leaving  our 
vehicle,  we  set  out  on  foot  for  Ivrea,  and  made  our  report 
to  the  general,  who,  convinced  that  the  army  was  utterly 
beaten,  decided  we  ought  to  march  directly  on  Turin  to 
defend  the  capital. 

We  had  collected  over  seven  thousand  men  during  our 
retreat,  and  at  Castellamonte,  where  we  halted  for  the  night, 
the  syndic  gave  us  notice  that  Charles  Albert  had  abdicated, 
and  Victor  Emanuel  been  named  his  successor  to  the 
throne.     Bes  immediately  handed  over  the  command  to 


/  BECOME  MINISTER  OF  WAR  loi 

me,  with  directions  to  go  to  the  Veneria  and  await  his 
orders,  saying,  rather  mysteriously,  that  political  events 
called  him  to  Turin.  At  Biella  and  Ivrea,  I  had  noticed 
that  the  general  was  surrounded  by  men  belonging  to  the 
Democratic  party,  and  supposed  they  wanted  him  to  enter 
into  some  ministerial  combination.  On  the  26th  I  reached 
the  Veneria  with  my  defeated  troops,  and  soon  after  our 
arrival  a  royal  courier  brought  a  letter  from  the  new 
king,  Victor  Emanuel,  calling  me  to  Turin.  At  the  royal 
palace  I  found  several  officers  by  whom  the  portfolio  of 
war  and  marine  had  been  refused.  The  king  greeted  me 
with  great  cordiality,  described  the  scene  of  his  father's 
abdication  and  the  conditions  of  the  armistice,  and  told 
me  of  his  meeting  at  Vignale  with  Radetzky,  and  his 
return  to,  and  glacial  reception  at,  Turin.  He  found  that 
the  Chambers,  ignorant  of  the  disastrous  events  of  Novara, 
had  sat  all  night,  and  taken  upon  themselves  to  decide  the 
fate  of  the  country  and  oblige  the  nation  to  continue  the 
war.  Victor  Emanuel  did  not  appear  the  least  affected  by 
the  unfavourable  aspect  of  affairs.  He  had  been  trying 
to  form  a  ministry,  but  could  get  no  one  to  accept  the 
portfolio  of  war.  Knowing  my  devotion  to  himself,  he 
begged  me  to  undertake  the  ungrateful  task.  I  was  not 
afraid  of  the  responsibility,  or  of  the  official  work  of  a 
ministry,  but  the  idea  of  having  to  present  myself  before 
the  Chambers  was  most  alarming.  Victor  Emanuel  said 
he  was  going  to  dissolve  Parliament  and  appeal  to  the 
country,  so  the  Chambers  could  not  meet  again  for  two 
or  three  months.  Again  begging  me  to  accept,  at  all 
events  for  the  moment,  he  added  that  if  I  found  the  work 
distasteful  we  could  then  look  for  a  successor.  Under 
these  conditions  I  accepted. 


\{ 


CHAPTER     IX 
1 849 — Continued 

The  First  Ministry  of  King  Victor  Emanuel — Stormy  Scene  in  the  Chambers 
— Revolt  in  Genoa  —  Disbanding  the  Lombard  Legion  —  General 
Ramorino  condemned  and  shot — Victor  Emanuel  and  Radetzky  meet — 
Negotiations  for  Peace — D'Azeglio  becomes  Prime  Minister — Peace  is 
ratified — Death  of  Charles  Albert — I  leave  the  Ministry  and  marry. 

General  Count  de  Launay,  the  head  of  the  first 
ministry  of  Victor  Emanuel,  had  been  recommended  for  the 
post  by  Charles  Albert  when  he  abdicated.  A  Liberal  in 
politics,  he  was  a  man  of  good  common  sense  and  great 
determination,  a  perfect  gentleman,  and  devoted  to  the 
House  of  Savoy.  The  other  members  of  the  Cabinet  were 
Pinelli,  a  lawyer,  who  had  been  a  minister  before ;  Nigra, 
the  banker,  well  known  as  the  most  honest  of  men  ;  C. 
Mameli,  De  Margherita,  F.  Galvagno  and  myself.  On 
the  28th  March  the  new  Cabinet  presented  itself  to  the 
Chambers.  Hostile  murmurs  greeted  De  Launay,  and 
continued  as  we  took  our  seats  on  the  Ministerial  bench ; 
directed  chiefly,  as  it  appeared,  against  the  president's  and 
my  military  uniforms.^  De  Launay  drew  himself  up  and, 
looking  straight  at  Bunico,  Vice-President  2  of  the  Chamber, 
began  to  introduce  his  colleagues.      Bunico  immediately 

^  We  had  just  come  from  Palazzo  Madama,  where  we  accompanied  the 
king  to  swear  to  uphold  the  Constitution,  and  had  not  had  time  to  change  our 
clothes. 

^  Pareto,  the  president,  had  gone  to  Genoa  to  foment  the  disorders  which 
had  broken  out  there  against  the  conclusion  of  peace. 

102 


STORMY  SCENE  IN  THE  CHAMBERS     103 

interrupted  him,  saying  that  as  he  had  not  asked  permission 
he  could  not  speak.  'Then  I  demand  leave  to  speak,' 
answered  De  Launay,  with  wonderful  calmness.  '  Who 
are  you  ? '  replied  Bunico.  '  I  am  General  de  Launay. 
named  President  of  the  Council  and  Minister  of  Foreign 
Affairs  by  King  Victor  Emanuel.'  '  Speak,'  was  the  curt 
answer.  De  Launay  presented  us  by  name  ;  and  then 
began  a  series  of  interpellations  on  the  causes  of  our 
defeat,  and  the  conditions  of  the  armistice  were  demanded. 
Pinelli  rose  and  read  them  aloud,  '  Dispersion  of  the 
Lombard  legion  ;  the  fleet  to  be  withdrawn  from  the 
Adriatic ;  our  territory  between  the  Po,  the  Sesia,  and  the 
Ticino  to  be  occupied  by  the  Austrians  ;  the  withdrawal  of 
our  troops  from  all  territory  belonging  before  the  war  to  the 
Lombard-Venetian  States;  and  a  mixed  garrison  in  the 
citadel  of  Alessandria.  Every  article  was  hailed  with 
indignant  shouts,  and  insults  were  hurled  at  those  who 
had  accepted  such  conditions.  Speeches  were  made  by 
lawyers,  who,  knowing  nothing  about  military  matters,  or 
about  the  real  state  of  the  country,  accused  this  person  or 
that  of  stupidity,  incapacity,  and  even  of  treachery.  One 
of  them  spoke,  as  it  seemed  to  me,  so  offensively  against 
the  army,  that,  forgetting  where  I  was,  I  sprang  up,  and 
was  rushing  at  him  with  doubled  fists,  when  Pinelli  gripped 
one  skirt  of  my  tunic  and  tore  it,  so  I  was  obliged  to  sit 
down  again.  Then  rising,  with  a  calmness  I  envied,  he 
denied  the  truth  of  the  deputy's  assertions.  The  noise, 
however,  still  continued,  and  Moffa  di  Lisio,  a  Democratic 
member  of  Parliament,  rose,  and  in  a  fine  speech  declared 
that  any  idea  of  treachery  was  out  of  the  question. 
Listened  to  by  all,  he  succeeded  in  gradually  calming  the 
agitation  of  the  House.  But  this  one  sitting  suflficed  to 
confirm  my  resolution  not  to  form  part  of  a  Cabinet 
exposed  to  the  insults  and  varied  opinions  of  members 
of  Parliament.     Not  that  I  am  averse  to  a  Constitutional 


104      AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A    VETERAN 

government;  on  the  contrary,  I  always  upheld  Liberal 
institutions;  but  my  character  and  my  habits  were  not 
those  of  a  politician,  who,  adapting  himself  to  circumstances, 
can  rebut  false  assertions  with  dignity  and  calmness.  The 
habit  of  always  talking  the  Piedmontese  dialect  rendered 
it  difficult  for  me  to  speak  Italian  fluently,  and  I  was 
naturally  impatient  and  quick  tempered.  Brought  up  as 
a  soldier,  the  sword  was  the  only  argument  I  understood. 
I  was  made  to  serve  my  country  in  the  army,  not  in 
Parliament,  and  I  hope  I  have  done  so  conscientiously 
and  well. 

The  Chambers  were  prorogued  on  the  29th  and  dis- 
solved on  the  30th;  so,  relieved  from  the  nightmare  of 
another  sitting,  I  began  to  put  the  war  office  in  order, 
and  to  reorganise  the  army.  In  my  department  all  work 
had  been  suspended ;  letters  and  despatches  had  been  left 
unopened  for  weeks  and  even  months.  The  military  in- 
capacity and  the  negligence  of  the  late  ministers  and  their 
subordinates  were  but  too  patent ;  there  was  no  regularity 
in  the  administration,  no  steps  had  been  taken  for  feeding 
or  paying  the  soldiers,  and  the  sum  I  found  in  the  chest 
was  barely  sufficient  for  the  expenses  of  one  day. 

This  was  soon  remedied  by  the  finance  minister.  Nigra, 
who  was  able,  thanks  to  his  high  personal  credit  on  the 
principal  foreign  exchanges,  to  negotiate  a  loan  on  com- 
paratively easy  terms.  Twenty-four  hours  after  I  joined 
the  ministry  news  of  the  disturbances  in  Genoa  reached 
Turin.  The  troops,  badly  led  by  an  old  Genoese  officer, 
had  allowed  the  rebels  to  seize  some  of  the  forts,  and  it 
was  imperative  to  act  with  energy  and  stifle  a  revolution 
which  might  compromise  the  whole  kingdom.  I  offered 
to  go  at  once,  and  the  king  accepted,  when  despatches 
arrived  announcing  that  my  brother,  Casimir,  had  been 
killed  at  the  head  of  his  regiment  by  a  shot  from  a 
window.     Of  course  I  withdrew  my  offer,  as  every  punish- 


THE  LOMBARD  LEGION  DISBANDED     105 

ment  inflicted  by  me  would  have  had  the  air  of  avenging 
my  brother's  death,  and  I  proposed  Alphonse  La  Marmora, 
who  reduced  the  city  to  order  in  a  few  days.  At  the 
same  time  I  was  occupied  in  carrying  out  one  of  the 
stipulations  of  the  armistice — the  disbanding  of  the  Lom- 
bard legion,  which  had  been  so  miserably  betrayed  by 
Ramorino.  Summoned  to  headquarters  on  the  20th 
March,  to  explain  his  disobedience  to  orders,  he  attempted 
to  fly,  but  was  arrested  and  taken  to  Turin  to  be  tried 
by  court-martial.  General  Fanti,  his  successor,  was  left 
entirely  in  the  dark  by  Czarnowsky  and  tried  in  vain 
to  send  messengers  to  Mortara  on  the  21st  and  22d 
March.  At  last,  fearing  the  enemy  might  march  on 
Alessandria,  which  had  a  very  small  garrison,  he  led  his 
men  thither.  After  the  disaster  of  Novara,  he  received 
orders  to  leave  for  Tortona,  and  on  the  march  the  news 
that  one  of  the  conditions  of  the  armistice  was  the  dis- 
banding of  the  Lombard  legion  became  known.  The  men 
were  very  indignant,  as  they  feared  being  left  to  the 
tender  mercy  of  the  Austrians,  and  their  discontent  was 
fomented  by  agents  sent  by  the  Republicans  of  Genoa.  A 
few  tried  to  desert,  but  were  stopped  by  General  Fanti's 
influence,  who,  on  arrival  at  Tortona  on  the  30th  March, 
called  his  officers  together,  and  explained  the  sad  necessity 
the  Sardinian  government  was  under  to  disband  the  Lom- 
bard division.  He  suggested  that  for  the  Italian  cause  it 
would  be  more  advantageous  to  remain  united,  and  offer 
their  services  to  the  provisional  governments  of  Rome  or 
Tuscany.  The  idea  was  admirable,  and  served  to  tran- 
quillise  the  troops  and  keep  the  division  together.  Old 
Marshal  La  Tour  accepted  the  task  of  presiding  at  the 
court-martial  which  tried  Ramorino.  The  crime  of  high 
treason,  suspected  by  many,  could  not  be  proved ;  but  his 
disobedience  was  flagrant,  the  punishment  for  which,  by 
the  military  code,  is  death.     As   I  have  already  said,  he 


io6      AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A    VETERAN 

had  received  a  written  order  from  Czarnowsky,  on  the  17th 
March,  to  take  up  a  strong  position  with  the  Lombard 
division  at  and  round  Cava,  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Po. 
With  the  bulk  of  his  troops  he  remained  on  the  right  bank, 
and  thus  facilitated  the  Austrian  invasion  of  Piedmontese 
territory.  The  court-martial  condemned  him  to  death. 
He  appealed  against  the  sentence,  and  his  old  mother 
came  to  Turin  to  implore  the  king's  pardon,  who  refused 
to  receive  her.  Several  ladies,  more  tender-hearted  than 
patriotic,  also  attempted  to  approach  the  queen  to  beg  her 
to  intercede,  but  without  success.  The  whole  ministry 
were  against  granting  any  mitigation  of  the  sentence,  and 
on  the  22d  May  Ramorino  was  shot  on  the  Champs  de 
Mars  at  Turin.  He  refused  to  be  blindfolded,  and  met  his 
death  with  courage. 

Besides  the  painful  duty  of  disbanding  the  Lombard 
division,  and  sending  out  of  Piedmont  so  many  men  who 
had  fought  with  us  for  the  liberation  of  Italy,  I  had  to 
recall  our  fleet  from  Ancona  to  Genoa.  Left  to  her  own 
resources,  it  is  a  matter  of  history  how  gallantly  Venice, 
under  Daniel  Manin,  defended  herself  against  the  Austrian 
fleet  and  army.  She  only  succumbed  when  sickness  and 
a  close  investment  by  the  enemy  made  resistance  im- 
possible. 

Meanwhile,  negotiations  for  the  peace,  of  which  the 
armistice  had  been  the  prologue,  were  proceeding. 
Immediately  after  the  abdication  of  his  father,  Victor 
Emanuel  sent  the  minister  Cadorna  and  Colonel  Cossato 
to  General  Hess  to  treat  for  an  armistice.  General  Hess, 
chief  of  the  staff  to  Radetzky,  showed  himself  as  un- 
bending towards  the  young  king's  envoys  as  Radetzky 
had  been  to  Charles  Albert,  and  maintained  certain  con- 
ditions absolutely  offensive  to  the  Constitution,  which 
Victor  Emanuel  was  about  to  swear  to  uphold.  They 
were  returning  to  Momo,  when  they  heard  that  Radetzky 


HARD  CONDITIONS  OF  ARMISTICE       107 

had  asked  and  obtained  an  interview  with  Victor  Emanuel. 
The  meeting  took  place  at  Vignale,  half  way  between  the 
two  headquarters.  As  already  stated,  the  old  marshal 
had  accompanied  the  young  archduchess,  Maria  Adelaide, 
to  Turin  in  1 842,  on  the  occasion  of  her  marriage  to  Victor 
Emanuel.  He  had  been  received  with  all  honour  by  the 
Court,  and  had  made  the  young  prince's  acquaintance. 
Setting  aside,  for  the  moment,  the  conditions  under  which 
they  met,  the  marshal  greeted  Victor  Emanuel  with  great 
cordiality,  and  begged  to  be  allowed  to  embrace  him.  He 
expressed  a  sincere  desire  to  conclude  not  only  a  treaty  of 
peace,  but  a  durable  friendship  between  his  own  sovereign 
and  the  young  king.  For  this  reason  he  strongly  advised 
Victor  Emanuel  to  renounce  the  new  form  of  Constitu- 
tional government,  which  might  become  a  source  of  con- 
tinual disagreement  between  the  Courts  of  Vienna  and 
Turin.  The  young  king's  manner  was  most  friendly  and 
deferential  towards  the  old  marshal,  but  he  resolutely 
declared  his  intention  of  preserving  the  Constitution,  given 
to  his  people  by  Charles  Albert,  intact,  as  he  considered 
a  revocation  would  be  an  insult  to  his  father.  After  this, 
Radetzky  could  not  insist,  and  the  conditions  of  the 
armistice  remained  as  before.  While  it  was  in  force  we 
had  to  submit  to  the  occupation  of  our  territory,  lying 
between  the  Po,  the  Sesia  and  the  Ticino,  by  eighteen 
thousand  infantry  and  two  thousand  cavalry.  Half  the 
garrison  of  the  citadel  of  Alessandria  was  to  consist  of 
Austrian  troops  (Radetzky  allowed  it,  however,  to  be 
understood  that  this  clause  would  not  be  insisted  upon 
unless  difficulties  arose  about  the  ultimate  treaty  of  peace). 
The  Sardinian  troops  were  to  abandon  the  territory  on 
the  right  bank  of  the  Po,  which  before  the  war  had  not 
belonged  to  us.  The  king  bound  himself  to  disband  the 
Lombard,  Hungarian,  and  Polish  legions,  and  to  recall  the 
troops  stationed  outside  the  confines  of  Piedmont  for  the 


io8      AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A    VETERAN 

defence  of  territory  which  was  again  to  fall  under  Austrian 
rule.  These  hard  conditions  were  signed  by  Victor 
Emanuel,  who  only  stipulated  a  complete  amnesty  for 
those  Austrian  subjects  who  had  fought  under  the  Italian 
flag.     This  was  promised  by  the  marshal. 

On  this  basis,  negotiations  for  peace  were  begun  at 
Milan,  between  the  minister  De  Bruck  for  Austria,  and 
Dabormida  and  Boncompagni  for  Piedmont.  Our  pleni- 
potentiaries were  instructed  to  obtain  some  relief  from 
the  hard  terms  of  the  armistice ;  but  not  only  did  they 
fail  in  their  intent — new  pretentions  were  raised,  especially 
with  regard  to  the  indemnity  for  which  De  Bruck  claimed 
220  millions. 

After  futile  endeavours  to  come  to  terms,  our  pleni- 
potentiaries were  recalled  to  Turin,  and  negotiations  were 
broken  off. 

The  Austrian  troops,  in  observation  round  Alessandria, 
immediately  entered  the  citadel  and  occupied  one  half,  as 
had  been  established  in  the  protocol  of  the  armistice,  not- 
withstanding the  protest  of  our  government  that  they 
refused  to  recognise  those  conditions  during  the  pre- 
liminaries for  peace,  even  at  the  risk  of  a  new  war.  To 
tell  the  truth  we  were  neither  desirous  nor  prepared  for 
fresh  hostilities ;  and  the  same  was  reported  of  the 
Austrians. 

Meanwhile  dissension  broke  out  between  De  Launay 
and  Pinelli,  Minister  of  the  Interior.  Public  opinion 
wrongfully  accused  De  Launay  of  Conservatism,  whilst  he 
was  a  sincere  Liberal.  But  he  would  not  hear  of  allowing 
the  Radicals,  who  wanted  war  at  any  price,  to  get  the 
upper  hand  and  ruin  the  country.  The  king  and  De 
Launay  agreed  to  choose  another  president  of  the  Council, 
and,  I  believe,  Massimo  D'Azeglio  was  suggested  by  De 
Launay  himself  D'Azeglio  had  no  desire  to  enter  the 
government,   and   still   less   to    become   president  of  the 


UAZEGLIO  AS  PRESIDENT  OF  COUNCIL    109 

Council ;  he  made  every  sort  of  excuse,  but  at  last  saw,  as 
I  had  done  on  the  27th  March,  that  it  was  a  patriotic  duty. 
He  entered  the  ministry  on  the  7th  May,  and  his  great 
popularity  immediately  made  itself  felt.  In  the  beginning 
of  June  the  negotiations  of  peace  were  reopened,  after 
demanding  the  withdrawal  of  the  Austrian  troops  from 
Alessandria,  which  was  done  in  twenty-four  hours.  Count 
di  Pralormo,  who  had  been  our  plenipotentiary  in  Vienna 
for  several  years,  was  added  to  Boncompagni  and 
Dabormida,  and  under  his  guidance  things  went  better. 
De  Bruck  came  down  from  220  millions  to  75,  the 
amnesty  of  the  Lombard-Venetians  was  published  before 
peace  was  ratified,  and  in  eight  days  the  Austrian  troops 
evacuated  the  kingdom  of  his  Majesty  the  King  of 
Sardinia. 

The  majority  of  the  nation  was  devoted  to  the  royal 
family,  but  occupied  themselves  little  with  politics,  and 
lacked  the  energy  to  insist  on  peace  and  tranquillity, 
compromised  by  the  Radical  party.  On  the  30th  July  the 
new  Chambers  opened  with  the  same  elements  of  opposi- 
tion as  the  last.  The  electors  returned  their  former 
members,  and  Marquis  Pareto,  one  of  the  instigators  of 
the  revolution  at  Genoa,  was  again  elected  president. 
No  sooner  did  D'Azeglio  announce  that  peace  was  about 
to  be  signed,  and  ask  a  vote  for  75  millions,  than  violent 
uproar  arose  in  the  Opposition  benches.  The  death  of 
Charles  Albert  caused  a  momentary  lull.  On  hearing  how 
ill  his  father  was,  Victor  Emanuel  had  sent  Riberi,  his  own 
doctor,  to  Oporto,  who  remained  there  till  the  28th  July, 
when  the  king  died.  His  death  was  only  known  in  Turin 
on  the  8th  August,  the  day  peace  was  ratified  at  Milan. 
The  sittings  of  Parliament  were  suspended  for  a  week,  and 
when  it  met  again  the  Opposition  was  more  violent  than 
before,  and  the  vote  for  the  payment  of  75  millions  only 
passed  by  a  very  small  majority.     These  perpetual  Par- 


no      AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A    VETERAN 

liamentary  struggles  kept  the  country  in  a  ferment,  and 
were  most  damaging  to  all  business  and  commerce.  The 
odious  insinuations  of  treachery  in  the  army  were  again 
circulated,  and  the  government  was  accused  by  the 
Radicals  of  seeking  to  destroy  the  new  order  of  things  by 
secret  treaties,  D'Azeglio  was  furious,  but  restrained 
himself,  and  kept  a  firm  hand  on  the  helm  of  the  State. 
As  to  myself,  I  confess  I  was  delighted  when  the  day  fixed 
between  the  king  and  myself  came,  and  I  handed  over  my 
portfolio  to  Bava. 

I  quitted  the  ministry  on  the  7th  September,  and  on 
the  1 2th  I  married  the  young  Countess  Irene  Verasis 
di  Castiglione,  to  whom  I  had  been  engaged  for  some 
months. 

The  king  had  given  his  permission  to  our  marriage, 
and  asked  me  if  the  future  Countess  Delia  Rocca  would 
like  to  be  named  one  of  the  ladies  about  the  queen,  whose 
Court  was  just  being  formed.  Irene  accepted,  and  it  was 
settled  that  when  we  returned  from  our  honeymoon  I  was 
to  present  her  to  their  Majesties. 


CHAPTER    X 

END    OF    1849-  1855. 

Life  at  Moncalieri — Parliament  dissolved — New  Chambers  ratify  Treaty  with 
Austria — Marriage  of  Duke  of  Genoa — Enmity  of  Foreign  Powers — Sir 
James  Hudson — Stormy  Debates  on  Ecclesiastical  Matters — Cavour 
becomes  Prime  Minister — Death  of  Duke  of  Genoa. 

Victor  Emanuel  took  up  his  residence  at  the  castle 
of  Moncalieri,  whence  he  rode  or  drove  every  day  to 
Turin.  The  Court  was  in  mourning,  not  only  for  Charles 
Albert,  but  for  the  disasters  which  had  befallen  our  country. 
All  the  rigid  etiquette  of  the  former  reign  was  abolished 
by  the  young  king  ;  Maria  Adelaide,  brought  up  in  simple 
German  fashion,  disliking  it  as  much  as  he  did  himself 
The  grave  and  unbending  widowed  Queen  Maria  Theresa 
remained  the  only  representative  of  the  solemn  Court  of 
Charles  Albert,  as  Maria  Adelaide,  always  kind  and  ami- 
able, had  insisted  on  her  mother-in-law  living  with  her. 
My  wife  had  been  named  one  of  the  ladies  about  the 
young  queen,  and  her  waiting  began  in  December  1849; 
so  the  king  allowed  me  to  choose  the  same  month  for  my 
duties  as  one  of  his  four  aides-de-camp. 

On  our  return  from  our  honeymoon,  in  November,  the 
political  horizon  was  gloomy.  Several  of  my  colleagues 
were  no  longer  in  the  ministry — Galvagno  had  taken  the 
place  of  Pinelli,  and  was  succeeded  as  Minister  of  Public 
Works  by  Paleocapa,  a  Venetian ;  while  Alphonse  La 
Marmora  was  Minister  of  War   and    Marine,   instead   of 

III 


112      AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A    VETERAN 

Bava.  The  Chambers,  restless  and  noisy,  refused  to  listen 
to  logic  or  reason.  They  clamoured  for  war  at  all  hazards, 
without  reflecting  that  quiet  and  order  were  necessary  to 
recoup  our  strength  and  reorganise  the  army.  Fortun- 
ately, our  ministers  and  diplomatists  were  patient  and 
clever,  and  succeeded  in  obtaining  large  reductions  from 
the  first  demands  of  Austria.  Now  it  seems  almost  im- 
possible to  realise  how  little  Piedmont,  vanquished, 
without  allies,  and  unaided  by  any  of  the  great  powers, 
should  have  accomplished  what  she  did.  It  was  sheer 
folly  not  to  see  that  everything  that  was  possible  had 
been  done.  The  deputies  demanded  that  new  conditions, 
chiefly  in  favour  of  the  emigrants,  should  be  added  to  the 
treaty,  and,  by  seventy  votes  against  sixty-six,  refused  to 
sanction  it.  This  was  about  the  middle  of  November,  and 
the  king  immediately  dissolved  Parliament,  and  appealed 
to  the  country  for  the  second  time.  On  the  20th,  by  the 
advice  of  the  prime  minister,  d'Azeglio,  he  published  the 
famous  *  Proclamation  of  Moncalieri.' 

The  Parliament,  which  met  in  December,  was  better 
constituted,  and  Pinelli  was  elected  president.  In  a  few 
days  the  treaty  of  peace  with  Austria  was  ratified  without 
a  dissentient  voice.  The  session  was  opened  with  a  speech 
by  the  king,  expressing  his  satisfaction,  and  he  was  heartily 
cheered  in  Piazza  Castello  on  leaving  the  Chambers.  The 
first  debates  were  on  ecclesiastical  jurisdiction,^  a  thorny 
subject,  which  provoked  stormy  discussions,  and  lasted  for 
several  years,  during  which  Piedmont  was  at  open  war 
with  the  Holy  See.  Deplorable  acts  were  committed  on 
both  sides ;  when,  for  instance,  the  Roman  Curia  refused 
the  sacrament  to  the  dying  minister  Santa  Rosa,  because 
he  voted  for  the  abolition  of  ecclesiastical  privileges,  and 
when  the  government  arrested  the  Archbishop  of  Turin, 

1  For  abolishing  the  privileges  and  immunities  enjoyed  by  ecclesiastics  in 
legal  questions. 


MARRIAGE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF  GENOA    113 

condemned  to  a  month's  imprisonment  and  finally  exiled, 
for  having  publicly  prohibited  his  clergy  to  obey  any 
citation  before  a  lay  tribunal. 

In  the  spring  of  1850  a  marriage  was  arranged  between 
the  Duke  of  Genoa  and  the  daughter  of  Prince  John, 
brother  and  heir  to  King  Frederick  August-us  of  Saxony. 
I  was  sent  to  Dresden  by  Victor  Emanuel  to  ask  the  hand 
of  the  Princess  Maria  Elizabeth  for  his  brother,  and  was 
accompanied  by  my  cousin,  Major  di  Cigala,  one  of  the 
handsomest  men  in  the  army.  Travelling  post  by  way 
of  Strasburg  and  Berlin,  we  reached  Dresden  in  five  days. 
I  was  most  graciously  received,  first  by  the  King  of 
Saxony,  then  by  Prince  John,  and  finally  by  the  Princess 
Maria  Elizabeth,  and  the  marriage  was  arranged  to  take 
place  soon. 

Meanwhile  I  went  to  Prague  to  deliver  a  letter  en- 
trusted to  me  by  the  Queen  Maria  Adelaide  for  the 
archduke,  her  brother,  who.  commanded  the  garrison. 
Whilst  there,  I  asked  leave  to  pay  my  respects  to  the 
ex-Empress  Marianne  of  Austria,  one  of  the  twin  daughters 
of  Victor  Emanuel  I.,  who  married  the  Crown  Prince 
Ferdinand  in  1831.  He  became  emperor  four  years 
later,  and  abdicated  owing  to  epilepsy  and  madness  in 
1848.  The  empress  was  most  gracious,  and  addressed 
me  in  the  Piedmontese  dialect,  asking  after  all  the  royal 
family.  While  talking  to  her  near  a  window  in  the  large 
saloon,  a  man,  wrapped  in  a  long  mantle  like  a  monk's 
cloak,  crossed  from  one  door  to  another.  Divining  that 
it  must  be  the  emperor,  I  was  about  to  rise,  when  the 
empress  laid  her  hand  on  my  shoulder  and  said,  *Ca 
fassa  finta  d'nen,'^  and  went  on  with  her  conversation. 
Soon  afterwards  she  dismissed  me,  and  I  returned  to 
Dresden  to  receive  the  Duke  of  Genoa  and  attend  his 
marriage. 

^  •  Pretend  not  to  see.' 
H 


114      AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A    VETERAN 

In  December  1850  my  daughter  Nathalie  was  born, 
and  the  following  spring  I  was  made  chief  of  the  staff. 
It  had  rather  lost  ground  in  the  last  three  years  as 
many  of  the  older  officers  had  been  placed  on  the  retired 
list,  and  their  places  had  not  been  filled  by  younger  men. 
I  presented  a  list  to  the  minister  of  war,  but  La  Marmora 
was  too  authoritative  to  admit  that  the  chief  of  the  staff 
should  enjoy  the  position  and  privileges  enjoyed  hitherto, 
and  I  had  some  trouble  in  obtaining  the  nomination  of 
six  of  the  officers  named  in  my  list.  They  all  turned  out 
well,  and  did  honour  to  the  corps,  so  that,  altogether,  the 
years  1851-1855  were  among  the  happiest  of  my  life, 
Victor  Emanuel  was  always  kind  and  gracious  to  me. 
Though  residing  at  Moncalieri  he  often  passed  whole 
weeks  at  Turin,  so  that  our  daily  intercourse  was  almost 
uninterrupted. 

All  the  rigid  etiquette  introduced  by  Charles  Albert 
had  been  abolished  at  the  Court  of  Victor  Emanuel.  The 
sweet  smile  of  the  Queen  Maria  Adelaide,  her  kindly 
manner  to  all,  her  perfect  temper,  and  the  unaffected 
cheeriness  of  the  king,  rendered  life  at  Moncalieri  easy 
and  pleasant,  and  allowed  no  scope  for  the  usual  intrigues 
and  petty  jealousies  of  a  Court. 

The  queen  was  very  delicate  and  her  health  was  visibly 
declining,  but  she  preserved  her  beauty  and  angelic  ex- 
pression. She  was  very  religious,  but  without  any  ostenta- 
tion. Much  of  her  time  was  passed  in  writing  to  her 
relations  at  Milan  and  Vienna,  and  she  embroidered 
most  beautifully  in  various  coloured  silks.  Her  con- 
versation was  simple  and  ingenuous  as  a  girl's  ;  highly 
educated,  her  modesty  was  so  great  that  she  seemed  afraid 
of  showing  how  much  she  knew. 

As  there  were  four  aides-de-camp,  I  was  only  on  duty 
three  months  in  the  year,  but  I  was  often  summoned  to 
take  the  place  of  one  or  the  other  of  my  companions,  who 


ENMITY  OF  FOREIGN  POWERS  115 

were  not  strong  enough  to  follow  Victor  Emanuel  in  his 
shooting  expeditions  and  excursions.  I  took  no  direct 
part  in  politics  during  these  years,  but  seeing  so  much 
of  the  king  I  heard  all  that  was  going  on.  My  cousin, 
Massimo  D'Azeglio,  showed  great  tact  and  energy, 
although  the  Radicals,  furious  at  his  thwarting  their 
policy,  accused  him  of  being  idle,  too  fond  of  his  painting, 
and  unfit  for  the  cares  of  office.  The  position  was  a 
difficult  one ;  the  European  powers  were  against  us,  and 
gave  us  advice,  which  in  fact  was  an  expression  of  their 
disapprobation  of  our  Constitutional  institutions  which,  to 
them,  were  odious.  England  alone  was  friendly,  and  her 
representative.  Sir  James  Hudson,  who  came  to  Turin 
about  this  time  and  remained  until  the  kingdom  of  Italy 
was  an  accomplished  fact,  gave  constant  proofs  of  this. 
Republican  France  was  hostile,  although  her  president, 
Prince  Louis  Napoleon,  was  favourable.  He  had  not 
forgotten  that,  with  his  brother,  he  had  fought  in  1831  for 
the  independence  of  Italy ;  but  for  the  moment  he  was 
forced  to  dissemble.  Victor  Emanuel  and  D'Azeglio 
were  astute  enough  to  divine  this,  and  to  cultivate  his 
friendly  feelings  by  their  cordiality  at  a  time  when  he 
was  regarded  with  suspicion  by  all  the  sovereigns  of 
Europe.  During  a  visit  the  president  made  to  the  Savoy 
frontier,  the  king  sent  an  envoy  to  greet  him  with  a  very 
complimentary  letter.  I  am  almost  certain  that  Napoleon's 
resolve  to  come  to  the  aid  of  Piedmont  dates  from  that 
interchange  of  letters  and  friendly  messages. 

The  coup  d'etat  which  made  Napoleon  emperor  took 
place  on  the  2d  December  185 1,  and  the  friendship  be- 
tween the  two  sovereigns  became  firmly  established. 

Our  home  affairs  were  not  more  satisfactory  than  our 
relations  with  foreign  powers.  The  debates  on  ecclesi- 
astical immunities,  civil  marriage  and  the  suppression  of 
convents  were  stormy.     They  aroused  the  enmity  of  Rome 


ii6      AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A    VETERAN 

and  tormented  the  conscience  of  the  king,  who  changed 
his  ministers  several  times,  though  Massimo  D'Azeglio 
held  the  presidency  from  1849  till  1852.  Victor  Emanuel 
liked,  esteemed  and  confided  in  D'Azeglio ;  at  that  time 
he  rather  dreaded  the  audacity  of  Cavour,  who  was  in 
bad  odour  at  the  Roman  Curia.  Though  alien  to  the 
religious  bigotry  of  the  Bourbons,  the  king  was  a  pro- 
fessed Catholic,  and  his  mother  and  wife  kept  alive  his 
sentiments  of  respect  for  the  Church  of  the  Holy  See. 
He  feared  that  if  Cavour  became  prime  minister,  the  Pope 
would  turn  completely  against  Piedmont  and  himself,  and 
also  that  his  minister  might  embroil  him  with  Austria  and 
Russia. 

After  one  of  the  many  ministerial  shufflings  there  was 
a  warm  discussion  between  the  king  and  D'Azeglio,  who 
declared  his  resolve  to  abandon  political  life.  Victor 
Emanuel  tried  to  form  a  Conservative  Cabinet  before 
summoning  Cavour,  but  the  attempt  failed ;  and  as 
soon  as  the  latter  became  prime  minister  he  proposed 
Rattazzi,  leader  of  the  left  centre,  to  the  king  as  minister 
of  the  interior.  A  union  between  the  right  and  the  left 
centre  had  already  been  initiated  by  Cavour  in  the 
Chambers ;  but  the  king,  who  then  hardly  knew  Urbano 
Rattazzi,  and  was  afraid  lest  his  party  might  undermine  the 
monarchy  and  join  with  the  extreme  Radicals,  refused. 

Cavour  now  became  arbiter  of  the  destinies,  not  only 
of  little  Piedmont,  but  of  all  Italy.  With  marvellous 
ability  he  took  advantage  of  the  political  emigration  to 
Turin.  From  southern  and  central  Italy,  and  from  the 
Lombard-Venetian  provinces,  men  came  to  Piedmont  to 
enjoy  the  liberty,  momentarily  conceded  by  their  own 
sovereigns  only  to  be  cruelly  snatched  away.  The  exiles 
were  received  with  open  arms ;  nearly  every  house  had 
one  as  a  lodger.  Cavour  made  their  acquaintance — nearly 
all  men  of  mark  in  science,  literature  and  art — and  helped 


DEATH  OF  DUKE  OF  GENOA  117 

them.  Gradually  a  large  number  of  Republicans,  struck 
by  the  loyalty  and  good  sense  of  the  king  and  the  extra- 
ordinary intelligence  of  his  minister,  were  persuaded  by 
him  to  join  the  party  of  Constitutional  monarchy.  He 
was  already  laying  the  foundation  of  an  independent 
and  strong  Italian  kingdom. 

The  conduct  of  foreign  affairs  by  Cavour  had  been 
so  successful  that,  profiting  by  the  condition  of  Europe, 
little  Piedmont  made  a  treaty  with  France  and  England 
for  the  defence  of  Turkey  against  the  arrogance  of  Russia, 
on  condition  of  furnishing  a  contingent  of  fifteen  thou- 
sand men. 

The  Duke  of  Genoa  was  destined  to  command  the 
army,  with  Alphonse  La  Marmora  as  chief  of  the  staff. 
But  in  the  autumn  of  1854  the  duke  fell  seriously  ill.  It 
became  evident  that  he  could  not  embark  for  the  Crimea, 
and  that  La  Marmora,  who  had  been  minister  of  war  for 
five  years,  would  have  to  take  the  command.  The  pre- 
parations took  several  months,  and  the  Duke  of  Genoa 
died  before  our  little  army  started  in  the  spring  of  1855. 


CHAPTER    XI 
1855-1857 

Death  of  Queen  Maria  Theresa — Death  of  Queen  Maria  Adelaide  and  Her 
Child — Expedition  to  the  Crimea — Victor  Emanuel  visits  Paris  and 
London — Napoleon  advises  Him  to  Marry  again — I  am  sent  to  Dussel- 
dorf — Countess  Castiglione's  Jewels — Prescience  of  Cavour — Mazzini 
attempts  to  seize  the  Arsenal  of  Genoa — Sends  Conspirators  to  Padula.  j 

At  the  end  of  1854  the  queen,  accompanied  by  her  mother- 
in-law,  came  to  Turin  for  her  confinement.  Maria  Theresa, 
as  I  have  already  said,  was  extremely  religious,  and  rarely 
left  the  palace,  save  to  visit  various  churches.  During  one 
of  these  visits  she  caught  cold  and  died  of  inflammation  of 
the  lungs  on  the  12th  January.  Her  death  was  kept  a 
secret  from  Maria  Adelaide,  who  had  just  given  birth  to 
her  seventh  son.  The  child  died  almost  immediately,  and 
his  mother  on  the  20th  January,  eight  days  after  Maria 
Theresa.  A  few  weeks  later  the  Duke  of  Genoa,  to  whom 
the  king  was  tenderly  attached,  breathed  his  last.  As 
always  happens  in  such  cases,  there  were  rumours  of 
poison,  while  many  talked  of  a  divine  punishment  for  the 
laws  relating  to  the  confiscation  of  church  property  and 
the  suppression  of  convents,  which  were  under  discussion 
in  Parliament.  The  death  of  the  two  queens  was  attri- 
buted, in  great  measure,  to  grief  at  the  expected  vote  in 
favour  of  these  measures,  and  it  was  affirmed  that  their 
last  prayer  to  the  king  had  been  not  to  sanction  them. 
My  wife,  who  was  in  almost  constant  attendance  on  the 

118 


DEATH  OF  THE  TWO  QUEENS  119 

Queen  Maria  Adelaide,  and  was  present  when  she  died, 
heard  nothing  of  this.  The  queen  was  too  weak  to  speak, 
and  only  now  and  then  murmured  a  loving  word  to  her 
husband  while  he  held  her  hand.  The  king  told  me  that 
during  that  time  men  of  various  parties  left  him  no  peace, 
attempting  to  influence  him  one  way  or  the  other.  He 
did  his  utmost,  while  remaining  staunch  to  the  laws  sanc- 
tioned by  both  Houses,  to  come  to  some  understanding 
with  Rome.  But  when  he  saw  that,  to  the  proposals  made 
in  his  name  by  the  bishops  of  Chambery  and  Mondovi, 
Rome  replied  by  threats  of  excommunication,  he  at  once 
acceded  to  the  wishes  of  the  majority,  and  gave  his 
sanction  to  all  that  had  been  done.  As  a  distraction  from 
his  family  sorrows,  he  occupied  himself  with  the  prepara- 
tions for  the  Crimean  war,  and  in  the  spring  gradually 
resumed  his  active  life. 

I  must  confess  that  public  opinion  was  decidedly  un- 
favourable to  the  Franco-Anglo  alliance,  and  still  more  to 
the  expedition  to  the  Crimea.  Count  Cavour  was  hotly 
attacked,  and  the  king  was  also  blamed,  as  very  few  people 
understood  the  advantages  which  were  ultimately  to  accrue 
to  us  from  such  a  policy.  Our  part  of  the  war  resolved 
itself  into  the  brilliant  battle  of  the  Tchernaja,  which  was 
to  have  considerable  influence  on  the  destinies  of  Italy.  It 
demonstrated  to  Europe  that  France  and  England  had 
sought  the  alliance  of  little  Piedmont,  that  our  army  was 
well  disciplined  and  brave,  that  our  sovereign  was  coura- 
geous and  ready  to  enter  into  any  undertaking  likely  to 
serve,  not  only  his  own  reputation,  but  the  general  interests 
of  the  Italian  peninsula,  and  that  his  prime  minister  was 
a  man  of  extraordinary  ability,  and  surrounded  by  a  bevy 
of  clever  men  from  all  parts  of  Italy.  This  was  the  first 
link  of  the  chain,  forged  by  the  skilful  hands  of  Cavour, 
which  was  to  rivet  Piedmont  to  the  rest  of  the  peninsula ; 
the  second  was  his  taking  his  place  among  the  represen- 


120.     AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A    VETERAN 

tatives  of  the  great  European  powers  at  the  Congress  of 
Paris. 

Despite  the  intrigues  of  Austria,  Cavour  succeeded  in 
obtaining  a  position  in  the  Congress  equal  to  that  enjoyed 
by  the  other  representatives,  and  he  was  thus  enabled  to 
put  the  Italian  question  officially  before  Europe.  He  took 
advantage  of  the  admiration  expressed  by  England  of  our 
troops  to  suggest  that  Queen  Victoria  should  invite  our 
king  to  pay  her  a  visit,  and  arranged  that  at  the  same 
time  he  should  also  be  the  guest  of  Napoleon  III.  in  Paris. 
Cavour  foresaw  the  success  that  Victor  Emanuel,  so 
original  in  manner  and  character,  would  have  abroad. 
The  king  was  frank  and  expressive,  nay,  even  familiar, 
but,  at  the  same  time,  he  was  proud  and  fully  aware  of 
what  was  due  to  him  as  the  representative  of  a  princely 
family,  dating  from  more  than  eight  centuries. 

On  23d  November  the  king  arrived  in  Paris,  accom- 
panied by  Cavour  and  Massimo  d'Azeglio,  the  leaders  of 
the  Liberal  and  the  Conservative  parties,  and  myself  as  first 
aide-de-camp.  We  were  lodged  in  the  Tuilleries,  and  the 
emperor,  who  had  not  long  been  married  to  the  Countess 
of  Montijo,  gave  a  series  of  fetes  in  honour  of  Victor 
Emanuel. 

At  the  end  of  November  we  left  for  London.  The 
railway  was  the  property  of  the  Baron  James  de  Roth- 
schild, and  he  accompanied  us  to  Calais,  As  soon  as  the 
train  started  Cavour  and  Rothschild  retired  into  another 
compartment.  Half  an  hour  later  the  former  returned 
rubbing  his  hands,  an  habitual  trick  of  his  when  pleased, 
and  with  a  jovial,  sly  smile  on  his  face.  '  Well  ? '  said  the 
king,  by  whom  Cavour  had  seated  himself  '  Everything 
is  settled,  your  Majesty  ;  I  am  quite  satisfied.'  '  And  you, 
Baron?'  continued  Victor  Emanuel  to  Rothschild,  who 
had  followed  Cavour.  '  I  am  also  satisfied,'  he  replied  ; 
*  everything  is  in  order.'     '  Then  I  must  congratulate  both 


VICTOR  EMANUEL  IN  ENGLAND        121 

of  you,'  said  the  king,  shaking  hands  with  them.  During 
those  few  minutes  Cavour  had  arranged  the  first  loan,  to 
be  followed  by  many  others,  with  the  house  of  Rothschild. 
He  never  lost  a  moment ;  walking,  travelling,  or  eating,  he 
accomplished  some  financial  or  political  business. 

The  reception  accorded  to  the  king  in  London  was 
extraordinary.  We  traversed  the  town  at  foot's-pace,  in 
the  midst  of  a  compact,  loudly  cheering  crowd.  This 
went  on  for  two  hours,  so  great  was  the  distance  between 
the  station  where  we  disembarked  and  the  one  where 
we  entered  the  train  for  Windsor. 

The  Prince  Consort  met  the  king  at  the  foot  of  the 
stairs  and  accompanied  him  to  the  top,  where  he  was  met 
by  the  queen.  Soon  afterwards  Prince  Albert  conducted 
Victor  Emanuel  to  his  apartments,  where  cigars  of  all 
sorts  had  been  put  into  every  room.  The  English,  who 
were  never  seen  with  a  cigar  in  their  mouths,  had  heard 
the  king  smoked  all  day  long,  and  the  cigars  had  been 
provided  as  a  kind  of  intimation  that  he  was  to  make 
himself  at  home. 

From  Windsor  we  went  to  London  for  two  days, 
where  we  heard  a  speech  from  the  Lord  Mayor,  com- 
plimenting the  King  of  Sardinia,  the  ally,  friend,  and 
guest  of  England.  Emanuel  D'Azeglio,  nephew  of 
Massimo,  had  already  translated  it  into  Italian  for  the 
king's  benefit,  and  Massimo  had  written  a  reply  in  French. 

Again  the  enthusiasm  was  tremendous,  and  the  car- 
riages could  only  go  at  foot's-pace  through  the  crowd, 
which  waved  handkerchiefs  and  shouted.  Smiling  gaily, 
the  king  said  to  me,  'You'll  see  how  well  I  shall  bear 
myself  to-day  and  bow  my  acknowledgments  properly  at 
the  pathetic  passages.'  In  public  Victor  Emanuel  never 
lost  his  self-control,  and  he  played  his  part  admirably  in 
the  great  hall  of  the  Mansion  House.  Listening  to  the 
speech  of  the  Lord  Mayor,  as  though  he  understood  every 


122      AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A    VETERAN 

allusion,  he  bowed  his  thanks  with  the  greatest  dignity ; 
then,  handing  me  his  cocked  hat,  replied  in  French,  ac- 
centuating well,  in  a  sonorous  voice,  and  with  a  kingly 
air  which  elicited  loud  applause. 

Before  leaving  London  the  king  was  invested  with  the 
Order  of  the  Garter.  Warned  that  he  must  wear  the 
special  dress  of  the  knights  of  the  Order,  a  tailor  was 
summoned  and  told  to  have  it  ready  in  twenty-four  hours. 
The  uniform  was  made,  but  fitted  very  ill,  as  I  saw  before 
and  after  the  ceremony,  for  only  the  knights  are  allowed 
to  be  present  at  the  investiture. 

We  left  England  on  the  5th  December,  and  the 
emperor  insisted  on  the  king  spending  two  days  at  the 
Tuilleries.  He  told  me  that  Napoleon  made  particular 
inquiries  about  his  family,  and  strongly  counselled  him 
to  marry  again.  Similar  advice  had  been  given  by  the 
Queen  of  England,  and  the  beautiful  Princess  of  Cam- 
bridge had  been  vaguely  mentioned.  But  Victor  Emanuel, 
though  he  admired  her  exceedingly,  could  not  make  up 
his  mind  to  the  marriage,  and  Queen  Victoria  let  the  sub- 
ject drop.  Napoleon,  on  the  contrary,  insisted,  and  pro- 
posed a  princess  of  one  of  the  oldest,  but  not  the  richest, 
families  of  Europe.  Although  the  king  had  not  the 
slightest  intention  of  marrying  a  second  time,  he  did  not 
wish  to  offend  his  powerful  ally,  or  give  him  reason  to 
suspect  that  he  had  already  married,  or  was  about  to 
marry,  Rosina  Vercellani  morganatically.  He  knew  it 
would  have  as  bad  an  effect  on  Queen  Victoria  as  on 
Napoleon,  so  he  affected  to  entertain  the  idea,  if  he  could 
be  assured  that  the  princess  was  handsome,  intelligent, 
and  amiable,  as  the  Queen  Maria  Adelaide  had  been. 
The  emperor  then  suggested  that  I  should  be  sent  to 
see  her  ;  a  mission  not  at  all  to  my  taste,  but  which  I 
had  to  accept.  So  when  the  king  left  for  Piedmont  I 
went  to  Germany,  without  any  letters  of  introduction,  as 


COUNTESS  DI  CASTIGLIONES  JEWELS     123 

the  object  of  my  journey  was  to  be  a  secret.  After  two 
days  of  travelling  I  arrived  in  Dusseldorf,  where  I  visited 
the  churches,  the  public  gardens  and  the  theatres,  without 
ever  seeing  Prince  Hohenzollern  Sigmaringen  or  his 
family.  I  began  to  despair,  when  the  happy  thought 
struck  me  of  asking  leave  to  visit  the  prince's  stables. 
Whilst  talking  to  the  director  the  prince  rode  up  in 
uniform  and  asked  my  name.  One  of  his  sisters  had 
married  Marquis  Pepoli  of  Bologna,  with  whose  family  I 
was  acquainted,  so  he  invited  me  to  dinner,  and  I  was  thus 
able  to  see  the  Princess  Stephanie.  She  was  only  eighteen, 
and,  though  charming,  was  very  shy  and  not  likely  to 
induce  a  sovereign  who  was  averse  to  matrimony  to 
change  his  mind.  My  mission,  therefore,  as  I  had  fore- 
seen, was  fruitless,  and  I  returned  to  Turin  in  time  to 
pass  Christmas  with  my  family. 

In  March  1856  I  was  again  in  Paris  with  my  wife  and 
two  little  daughters,  to  consult  the  famous  physician  Blache 
about  one  of  them.  We  saw  the  baptism  of  the  Prince 
Imperial,  and  were  invited  to  all  the  Court  fetes  at  St 
Cloud  and  in  Paris.  Here  we  saw  the  beautiful  Countess  di 
Castiglione,  whom  we  had  known  as  a  child  in  Piedmont. 
It  was  the  beginning  of  her  great  favour  with  the  emperor, 
which  lasted  six  or  seven  years,  and  aroused  the  jealousy 
of  the  empress.  The  richness  and  daring  originality  of 
her  toilettes  were  celebrated.  At  a  fancy  dress  ball  at  the 
Tuilleries  the  lovely  countess  appeared  as  Queen  of  Hearts, 
in  a  very  transparent  dress  open  on  one  side  up  to  her 
hip,  and  displaying  her  magnificent  figure  clothed  in 
scarlet  silk  'tights.'  Round  her  neck  was  a  gold  chain, 
from  which  hearts,  encrusted  with  precious  stones,  were 
suspended,  and  a  large  heart  hung  from  her  girdle  in 
front.  Court  gossips  said  that  the  empress  exclaimed, 
'  Quels  beaux  bijoux,  mais  le  coeur  est placi  bien  bos  ! ' 

The    Congress   for  the   peace  with  Russia  was   then 


124      AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A    VETERAN 

sitting  in  Paris,  and  the  successes  of  Cavour,  his  wonder- 
ful cleverness,  and  his  eminent  qualities  as  a  statesman, 
were  themes  of  general  conversation.  I  felt  proud  to  see 
the  admiration  my  compatriot  excited,  and  was  disagree- 
ably surprised  when,  on  my  return  to  Turin,  the  king  told 
me  it  was  rumoured  that  I  had  been  sent  by  him  on  a 
kind  of  secret  mission  to  report  on  the  acts  of  Cavour 
and  the  impression  they  made  on  the  Tuilleries  and  else- 
where. These  reports  reached  Cavour,  who  showed  his 
displeasure  to  the  king.  He  imagined  that  I  had  great 
influence  with  Victor  Emanuel,  an  opinion  shared  by 
many  others,  and  which  was  the  cause  of  considerable 
mischief  to  me  in  after  years.  The  truth  is  that  the  king 
was  always  extremely  kind  to  me,  and  treated  me,  if  I  may 
use  the  term,  as  a  sort  of  elder  brother-at-arms,  who  could 
advise  him  in  matters  of  private  life,  and  to  whom  he 
could  talk  about  political  concerns,  without  however  per- 
mitting any  discussion  on  his  duties  as  a  Constitutional 
sovereign.  He  had  a  keen  perception  of  those  about  him  ; 
some  he  both  liked  and  esteemed,  but  not  all.  Several  of 
the  men  whose  character  and  intelligence  he  admired  were 
personally  distasteful  to  him,  yet  he  called  them  several 
times  to  power,  sacrificing  his  likes  and  dislikes  to  the  good 
of  his  country  and  the  Italian  cause,  which  was  his  one 
object  in  life,  and  in  which  he  always  believed  when  others 
had  lost  heart. 

The  same  party  in  Piedmont  which  disapproved  of  the 
Crimean  expedition  could  not  seize  the  importance  of  the 
success  obtained  by  Cavour  at  the  Congress  of  Paris  in 
1856,  or  the  impulse  he  had  given  to  Italian  affairs.  Many 
Turinese  grumbled  that  nothing  had  been  stipulated  for 
Piedmont,  who  gained  no  material  advantages  from  the 
alliance  and  the  war.  But  the  Milanese,  the  Venetians 
and  the  Liberals  of  the  divers  Italian  provinces  were  more 
clear-sighted,  and  the  aspirations  of  1848  again  made  them- 


PRESCIENCE  OF  CA  VOUR  125 

selves  heard.  The  king  Galantuomo  and  his  incomparable 
minister  were  overwhelmed  with  thanks,  encouragement 
and  prayers.  I  think  I  am  correct  in  saying  that  the 
designs  and  expectations  of  Cavour  increased  so  largely 
towards  the  end  of  1856  and  during  1857  that  he  foresaw 
possibilities  he  had  not  dared  to  calculate  on.  By  the 
help  of  several  Lombards,  of  various  Sicilians  led  by 
Farina,  and  of  the  more  remarkable  members  of  the  Centre, 
he  began  to  weave  the  net  which  was  to  enfold  all  the 
children  of  Italy,  and  realise  his  ideal  of  seeing  all  the 
independent  provinces  united  into  one  country. 

On  4th  July  1857  I  became  lieutenant-general  by 
seniority,  which  confirmed  mc  in  the  position  of  first  aide- 
de-camp  and  one  of  the  chief  officers  of  the  Court,  so  that 
I  was  more  than  ever  about  the  king. 

There  were  violent  debates  in  the  Chambers  about 
transferring  the  naval  station  from  Genoa  to  Spezia.  The 
latter  port  was  preferable  in  case  of  a  war,  which  seemed 
probable,  as  Austria  was  playing  the  same  game  she  had 
done  ten  years  before.  The  Genoese  were  less  annoyed 
than  had  been  feared  by  the  passing  of  the  law.  Since 
the  question  of  Italian  independence  had  been  raised  they 
understood  that  Piedmont  was  the  only  possible  champion. 
Mazzini,  however,  thought  otherwise.  Desirous  of  effacing 
the  memory  of  the  failure  of  his  enterprise  in  southern 
Italy,  he  was  planning  fresh  revolts  on  the  Neapolitan 
coast  and  in  central  Italy.  For  some  months  he  had 
been  moving  between  Leghorn,  Spezia  and  Genoa  with 
some  of  his  followers  charged  to  collect  men  and  arms. 
Counting  on  the  ill-humour  of  his  Genoese  compatriots 
he  determined  to  try  and  seize  the  naval  arsenal  and  the 
artillery  depot,  and  capture  a  frigate  that  lay  at  anchor  in 
the  port  of  Genoa.  A  warning  had  reached  Rattazzi,  the 
minister  of  the  interior,  but  he  did  not  believe  the  con- 
spiracy was  serious,  and  his  information  as  to  Mazzini's 


126      AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A    VETERAN 

movements  was  defective.  The  French  police,  however, 
discovered  the  plot,  and  revealed  it  to  our  government, 
who  immediately  reinforced  the  garrisons  of  the  places 
menaced  by  the  Mazzinians ;  the  result  was  their  precipi- 
tate retreat,  with  the  exception  of  a  small  detachment  in 
the  fort  Diamante,  who  were  not  warned  in  time.  During 
the  night  they  fell  upon  the  small  garrison,  killed  the 
sergeant  and  took  the  men  prisoners.  There  was  some  agi- 
tation next  morning  in  the  city,  but  rather  in  favour  of  the 
government  than  of  Mazzini.  Seeing  the  unfavourable  turn 
of  events,he  took  his  departure;  but,  before  leaving,  arranged 
one  of  those  foolhardy  enterprises  which  only  served  to 
increase  the  number  of  victims  to  the  Italian  cause,  or,  as 
some  said,  to  keep  the  idea  of  union  alive  in  the  peninsula. 
Misled  by  reports  from  some  of  his  emissaries,  who 
assured  him  that  on  the  Neapolitan  coast,  at  Padula  and 
at  Sapri,  thousands  of  men  only  awaited  his  orders  to  rise, 
he  persuaded  Pisacane  and  Nicotera,  with  a  merchant 
captain  and  some  volunteers,  to  embark  as  passengers  on 
board  the  Cagliari,  a  Sardinian  vessel  trading  between 
Genoa  and  Tunis.  On  the  high  seas  they  made  the 
Sardinian  captain  prisoner,  put  their  man  in  his  place, 
forced  the  sailors  and  the  two  engineers,  who  were 
Englishmen,  to  obey  him,  and  sailed  for  the  coast.  Not 
a  man  met  them  at  the  appointed  places,  but  at  Ponza 
they  succeeded  in  liberating  and  enrolling  three  hundred 
prisoners.  At  Padula  they  were  met  by  a  battalion  of 
Neapolitan  troops  and  utterly  beaten  ;  Pisacane  was  killed, 
Nicotera  wounded  and  arrested.  The  captain  of  the 
Cagliari  left  the  conspirators  on  shore  and  started  for 
Tunis  ;  but  the  ship  was  captured  in  the  name  of  Ferdinand 
II.  and  taken  to  Naples.  Our  government  protested  in 
vain,  until  at  last  England  insisted  on  the  release  of  her 
subjects  the  two  engineers,  the  restitution  of  the  vessel  to 
Sardinia,  and  the  payment  of  an  indemnity. 


'<f^      or  TH1'- 


CHAPTER    XII 

1858.      BEGINNING  OF    1859 

Orsini  attempts  Life  of  Napoleon  III. — I  am  sent  as  Ambassador  Extra- 
ordinary to  Paris — Anger  of  the  Emperor — Victor  Emanuel's  Letter — 
Princess  Mathilde  at  the  Tuilleries  Ball — Napoleon  promises  His  Aid 
f^ainst  Austria — The  Treaty  of  Plombi^res — Am  named  Head  of  the 
General  Staff — Declaration  of  War — French  Troops  arrive  in  Piedmont 
— Incapacity  of  Giulay — Garibaldi  takes  Command  of  Volunteers — 
Victor  Emanuel  receives  Tuscan  Deputation. 

In  January  1858  all  Europe,  and  Piedmont  in  particular, 
was  startled  by  the  attempted  assassination  of  Napoleon  III. 
by  Felice  Orsini.  The  emperor  wrote  to  the  sovereigns 
of  Europe,  requesting  them  to  take  severe  precautionary 
measures  against  the  Republican  and  Radical  Italian  emi- 
grants and  exiles  who  had  taken  refuge  in  their  several 
states.  Many  of  them  sent  special  ambassadors  to  Paris  to 
compliment  Napoleon  on  having  escaped  unhurt,  and  Victor 
Emanuel,  in  concert  with  Cavour,  confided  this  difficult 
mission  to  me.  Our  government  especially  had  fallen  under 
the  displeasure  of  the  emperor  on  account  of  the  number 
of  exiles  from  the  various  Italian  states  who  had  taken 
refuge  with  us.  I  arrived  in  Paris  with  my  aide-de-camp 
and  secretary,  Count  Charles  di  Robilant,  captain  of 
artillery  and  an  intimate  friend  of  ours,  at  the  end  of 
January.  At  an  official  audience  I  delivered  to  the 
emperor  an  autograph  letter  from  the  king,  informing 
his  bon  frere  that  his  ambassador  extraordinary  was 
charged  to  give  the  fullest  explanations  on  all  matters 
connected  with  the  circular  and  subsequent  notes  sent  by 
the  Imperial  to  the  Sardinian  Government. 

127 


128      AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A    VETERAN 

Several  days  passed  without  our  receiving  any  invita- 
tion to  the  Tuilleries,  and  I  became  anxious.  Unaccus- 
tomed to  the  tortuous  ways  of  diplomacy,  I  knew  not 
whether  to  ask  for  another  audience  or  to  await  the 
pleasure  of  the  emperor.  Both  the  king  and  Cavour 
were  anxiously  waiting  to  hear  the  result  of  the  private 
audience  which  they  expected  would  follow  immediately 
on  the  delivery  of  the  letter.  From  the  Marquis  of 
Villamarina,  our  minister  plenipotentiary  at  Paris,  I  heard 
that,  after  the  attempt  on  his  life,  the  emperor  had  ex- 
pressed great  anger  against  the  Sardinian  Government, 
exclaiming,  '  Piedmont  is  a  nest  of  revolutionists  and 
assassins.  Orsini  has  stayed  there  several  times,  and 
Mazzini  is  continually  in  the  country,  without  the  police 
taking  any  notice.'  These  words,  and  the  delay  in  grant- 
ing me  an  audience,  seemed  to  augur  badly,  especially 
as  the  Prince  of  Liechtenstein,  Austrian  ambassador 
extraordinary,  who  arrived  in  Paris  after  us,  was  said  to 
have  been  very  well  received  at  Court.  At  last  in  the 
beginning  of  February  came  an  invitation  to  dine  at 
the  Tuilleries,  with  a  letter  from  the  minister  of  the  house- 
hold, intimating  that  his  H.I.M.  the  Emperor  would  see 
me  in  private  the  same  evening.  After  dinner  Napoleon 
took  me  into  his  study,  and  said  the  tone  of  the  king's 
letter  was  very  friendly,  and  that  he  intended  to  reply  at 
some  length.  Then  he  paused,  and  I  thought  I  might 
venture  to  draw  his  attention  to  several  matters  I  had 
been  instructed  to  submit  to  him.  But  seeing  that  he 
wished  to  formulate  his  accusations  before  I  could  attempt 
any  defence,  I  stopped  short.  Requesting  me  to  listen 
attentively,  as  he  wished  his  precise  words  to  be  reported 
to  the  king,  he  began  with  vehement,  I  may  say  unjust, 
charges  against  our  government.  He  complained  especi- 
ally of  a  newspaper.  La  Ragione,  and  of  the  judges  who, 
after  trying  the  editor  for  abusing  monarchical  governments 


ANGER  OF  NAPOLEON  III.  129 

and  publishing  something  very  like  an  apology  for  political 
assassination,  had  absolved  him.  Such  acts,  continued  the 
Emperor,  were  calculated  to  cool  the  friendly  relations 
hitherto  subsisting  between  his  government  and  Piedmont, 
and  showed  that  our  ministry,  particularly  Count  Cavour, 
was  in  league  with  the  extreme  left.  Our  laws,  he  added, 
were  quite  inadequate  to  cope  with  the  disorder  born  of 
political  assassination,  or  with  the  disgraceful  press  which 
glorified  such  deeds.  Recalling  our  alliance  with  him 
and  with  England  in  1855,  he  impressed  upon  me  how 
little  we  had  to  hope  from  the  latter  power,  while  all  our 
interests  lay  in  a  close  alliance  with  him.  For  this  it  was 
absolutely  necessary  that  those  emigrants,  who  consti- 
tuted a  perpetual  source  of  danger  to  ourselves  and  to 
him,  should  be  banished  from  Piedmont.  He  said  that, 
owing  to  his  complaints,  Geneva,  till  now  a  refuge  for 
assassins,  had  expelled  a  large  number  of  exiles  who 
had  gone  to  Savoy,  where  the  police  not  only  failed  to 
denounce  them,  but  allowed  demonstrations  of  welcome 
in  their  honour.  From  the  provinces,  from  public  bodies, 
and  from  the  army.  Napoleon  stated  that  he  had  received 
addresses  expressing  the  utmost  horror  of  the  attempted 
assassination  by  Orsini,  and  that  the  army  was  ready  to 
tnarch  against  any  place  known  to  be  a  refuge  for  assassins. 

The  threat  contained  in  the  last  few  words  was  menacing. 
To  conceal  the  impression  made  upon  me,  I  again  tried  to 
persuade  the  emperor  that  the  accusations  against  our 
government  were  unfounded,  and  assured  him  of  our 
unceasing  endeavours  to  restrain  revolutionary  tendencies 
and  repress  disorder.  He  listened  courteously,  but  re- 
tracted nothing,  and  again  requested  that  his  exact  words 
should  be  reported  in  writing  to  the  king.  Reluctantly  I 
had  to  obey,  and  the  same  night  our  courier  took  my 
letter  to  Turin. 

The  emperor  had  been  as   courteous  towards   myself 

I 


I30      AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A    VETERAN 

as  he  had  been  harsh  towards  my  government;  when 
I  took  leave  he  told  me  to  come  to  the  Tuilleries  any 
morning  between  nine  and  ten,  when  he  was  generally  at 
liberty.  So,  before  the  courier  returned,  I  saw  him  several 
times,  and,  according  to  my  instructions,  attempted  to  lay 
the  condition  of  Piedmont  since  1849  before  him.  From 
observations  and  questions  addressed  to  me  at  the 
Tuilleries  and  in  Paris  salons,  I  saw  that  Piedmontese 
affairs  were  utterly  unknown  in  France.  We  were  regarded 
as  more  or  less  revolutionary,  and  accused  of  giving  refuge 
to  exiles  and  political  criminals.  I  told  the  emperor  that 
the  first  years  of  Victor  Emanuel's  reign  had  not  been 
easy ;  but  now,  thanks  to  his  loyalty,  the  prudence  and 
firmness  of  D'Azeglio,  and  the  clear-sighted  policy  and 
powerful  genius  of  Cavour,  he  had  gained  the  confidence 
and  love  of  his  people.  Social  revolution  would  not  break 
out  in  Piedmont,  but  was  imminent  in  other  Italian  pro- 
vinces, especially  in  those  ruled  by  Austria.  The  only 
way  to  prevent  this,  and  pacify  those  who  were  appealing 
to  us  for  help,  would  be  the  intervention  of  a  great  power 
in  favour  of  Italian  independence.  With  regard  to  Mazzini, 
I  assured  him  that  we  knew  his  influence  was  on  the 
decline,  owing  to  his  foolhardy  enterprises,  which  only 
served  to  augment  the  number  of  martyrs  to  the  Italian 
cause ;  and  I  gave  the  true  version  of  the  affair  of  the 
Cagliari,  which  had  been  misrepresented  in  France. 

By  the  time  the  courier  returned  with  answers  to  my 
letters,  I  saw  the  emperor  was  better  disposed  towards 
us ;  so  I  ventured  to  obey  the  orders  contained  in  one  of 
the  letters  of  Victor  Emanuel — to  commit  the  imprudence 
of  reading  the  other  aloud  to  the  emperor  by  motu  proprio, 
as  it  were.  Napoleon  listened  attentively,  smiled  at  some 
passages,  and  expressed  his  admiration  of  the  proud 
dignity  of  the  concluding  words,  '•  Uapres  ce  que  je  viens 
de  vous  dire,  mon  cher  La  Rocca,  Vempereur  doit  etre  bien 


VICTOR  EMANUEL'S  LETTER  131 

persuade  de  mes  bonnes  intentions,  et  voir  que  les  faits  ont 
///  executes  mane  avant  qu'il  les  eut  demandis.  SHI  voulait 
que  fuse  de  violence  ici,  qu'il  sache  que  je  perdrais  toute  ma 
force,  et  lui  toutes  les  sympathies  cTune  genereuse  et  noble 
nation.  ...  Si  les  paroles,  que  vous  me  transmettez,  sent  les 
paroles  textuelles  de  Uempereur,  dites  lui  dans  les  termes  que 
vous  croirez  les  mielleurs,  qu'on  ne  traite  pas  ainsi  unfdele 
alli^,  que  je  n'ai  famais  souffert  de  violences  de  personne,  que 
je  suis  la  voie  de  Pkonneur  toujours  sans  tache  et  que  de  cet 
honneurje  i^en  reponds  qu'd  Dieu  et  a  mon  peuple  ;  qiCily  a 
huit  cent  cinquante  ans  que  nous  portons  la  tcte  haute,  et 
que  personne  ne  me  la  f era  baisser,  et  avec  tout  celd  que  je 
ne  dt^sire  autre  chose  que  dctre  son  ami' 

'  Voila  ce  qui  s'appelle  avoir  du  courage^  exclaimed  the 
emperor.  *  Votre  roi  est  un  brave,  faime  sa  riponse!  He 
continued  talking  about  the  king,  and  repeated  several 
times,  ^  fe  suis  sHr  que  nous  nous  entendrons,'  and  then  told 
me  to  write  immediately  to  reassure  Victor  Emanuel,  and 
say  he  was  sorry  to  have  caused  him  any  uneasiness,  and 
that  his  opinions  with  regard  to  Piedmont  were  modified. 
In  another  audience  I  touched  upon  a  reported  scheme  of 
alliance  between  France  and  Austria,  and  the  emperor 
replied,  '  I  love  Italy,  and  shall  never  ally  myself  with 
Austria  against  her.  Had  I  occupied  the  place  I  now 
fill  in  1849  I  should  certainly  have  gone  to  the  aid  of 
Charles  Albert.' 

At  a  great  review  the  emperor  beckoned  me  to  his 
side,  pointing  out  one  regiment  after  another  as  they 
marched  past.  The  same  evening  a  paper  was  sent  me 
through  the  post,  with  a  notice  of  the  review,  saying  that 
the  emperor  had  conversed  with  the  Austrian  and  English 
ambassadors,  but  only  said  a  few  words  to  the  King  of 
Sardinia's  envoy, '  Car  ici  les  Piemontais  ne  sont  pas  aim^s.' 
At  the  Tuilleries  ball  that  night  the  empress  stopped  to 
inquire  about  the  king  and  his  children,  and  asked  after 


132       AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A    VETERAN 

my  wife.  Immediately  after  her  came  Princess  Mathilde, 
sister  of  Prince  Jerome  Bonaparte,  one  of  the  few  persons 
then  in  France  who  liked  the  Italians,  and  who  was 
supposed  to  enjoy  the  full  confidence  of  the  emperor. 
' Dites  moi.  Monsieur  Delia  Rocca'  she  exclaimed,  in  her 
clear,  high  voice,  '  avez  vous  vu  le  journal  de  ce  soir  ?  Ces 
gens  Id  ont  bien  raison  de  dire  que  nous  ne  vous  aimons  pas, 
car'  .  .  .  pausing  a  moment,  'nous  vous  adorons,'  she 
continued,  laughing,  and  glancing  archly  at  me.  The 
Prince  of  Liechtenstein  was  standing  close  by,  and  his 
yellow  face  turned  green  at  these  words. 

A  few  days  later  I  received  letters  from  Turin.  Cavour 
wrote : — 'Je  te  felicite  sincerement  de  tes  debuts  dans  la 
carriere  diplomatique.  Place  dans  une  position  extrhnement 
difficile,  tu  as  su  fen  tirer  avec  une  rare  habilete  et  un  tact 
parfait.  Le  roi  a  ete  tres  satisfait  de  ce  que  tu  as  dit  et  de 
ce  que  tu  as  fait.  Je  pense  quHl  te  Fecrira  lui  meme '  .  .  . 
and  the  king  added,  '  Je  vous  embrasse  et  je  vous  remercie 
de  tout  mon  cceur ;  vous  m'avez  rendu  un  grand  service,  et 
vous  vous  etes  tire  daffaire  dune  maniere  inerveilleuse, 
vnieux  qu'un  diplomate.'  .  .  . 

At  my  last  audience,  on  the  20th  February,  the 
emperor  declared  himself  perfectly  satisfied  with  all  I 
had  told  him  in  the  name  of  Victor  Emanuel  and  of 
Cavour,  and  with  my  explanations  about  the  condition  of 
Piedmont.  He  authorised  me  to  tell  the  king  con- 
fidentially that  in  case  of  a  war  between  Piedmont  and 
Austria  he  would  come  with  a  large  force  to  fight  side  by 
[  side  with  his  faithful  ally  Victor  Emanuel.  ' Dites  aussi' 
1  he  added,  "■  a  M.  de  Cavour,  qu'il  se  mette  en  correspondance 
directe  avec  moi,  et  que  Jtous  nous  entendrons  certainement! 

It  was  a  fortunate  coincidence  that,  just  as  the  emperor 
was  beginning  to  mollify  towards  us,  Pietri,  the  prefect  of 
police,  gave  him  a  letter  from  Orsini,  written  in  prison, 
containing  almost  the  same  words  I  had  spoken — that  the 


LETTER  FROM  ORSINI  TO  NAPOLEON    133 

Italians  were  resolved  to  bear  a  foreign  yoke  no  longer. 
*I  conjure  your  Imperial  Majesty,'  continued  Orsini,  'to 
bestow  on  Italy  the  independence  her  sons  wanted  in  1 848 
and  1849.  Be  assured  that  until  they  have  it  there  will  be 
no  tranquillity  for  Europe,  or  for  your  Imperial  Majesty. 
Deign  to  listen  to  the  last  request  of  a  patriot  on  the  steps 
of  the  scaffold — free  my  country,  and  the  benedictions  of 
twenty-five  million  people  will  follow  you  to  posterity. 

On  arriving  at  Turin  I  hastened  to  inform  the  king 
and  Cavour  of  the  formal  promise,  to  come  to  the  aid 
of  Piedmont  in  case  of  war  with  Austria,  given  by  the 
emperor  at  my  last  audience.  I  saw  that  Napoleon  had 
some  other  idea  with  respect  to  an  alliance  with  us,  and 
hinted  as  much  to  the  king.  To  Cavour  I  spoke  more 
plainly,  and  he  rubbed  his  hands,  and  smiled  rather 
sardonically  with  an  air  of  superior  knowledge.^ 

It  is  a  matter  of  history  that,  immediately  after  the 
meeting  of  the  emperor  and  Cavour  at  Plombieres  in  1858, 
war  was  talked  of  as  imminent.  The  propaganda  of  the 
Italian  cause  in  the  provinces  redoubled  in  zeal,  aided  by 
the  National  Society  of  Central  Italy,  under  La  Farina, 
who  worked  with  Cavour.  After  the  reception  at  the 
Tuilleries  for  the  New  Year,  when  the  emperor  said  to 
Hiibner,  Austrian  ambassador  at  Paris, '  I  regret  that  our 
relations  with  your  government  are  not  as  cordial  as  they 
were,'  and  Victor  Emanuel's  speech  on  the  loth  January 
1859,  at  the  opening  of  Parliament,  the  agitation  increased. 
Austria  sent  reinforcements  to  her  Italian  army,  and  war, 
unpopular  in  France,  but  hailed  with  joy  by  the  Italians, 
was  considered  inevitable.  Our  finance  minister,  Lanza, 
asked  for  a  loan  of  fifty  millions,  troops  were  summoned 
from  the  more  distant  garrisons,  and  in  March  all  our 
reserves  were  called  under  arms. 

'  The  marriage  of  Princess  Clotilde,  daughter  of  Victor  Emanuel,  and  the 
cession  of  Nice  and  Savoy,  were  probably  in  the  thoughts  of  both. 


134      AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A    VETERAN 

France  armed  slowly.  Public  opinion  was  generally 
hostile,  and  politicians,  aware  of  Napoleon's  predilection 
for  the  country  which  had  given  birth  to  his  forebears, 
declared  the  war  was  a  sentimental  one  and  injurious  to 
France,  who  could  reap  no  advantage.  They  were  ignorant 
of  the  treaty  at  Plombieres,  which  gave  her  two  rich 
provinces.  We,  on  the  contrary,  pushed  forward  our 
armaments  with  all  speed.  By  the  middle  of  April  an 
army  of  five  divisions,  each  consisting  of  from  twelve 
thousand  to  fifteen  thousand  men,  was  ready.  Victor 
Emanuel  was  commander-in-chief,  and  he  named  me  head 
of  the  staff;  La  Marmora  accompanied  the  king  as  minister 
in  attendance.  Volunteers  from  Lombardy,  Venetia, 
Parma,  the  Roman  States  and  Tuscany,  flocked  to  join  us 
on  the  first  rumour  of  war,  and  were  placed  under  the 
command  of  General  Garibaldi.  Two  thousand  Tuscan 
regular  soldiers  also  assembled  under  General  Ulloa,  but 
they  only  arrived  when  all  was  over — after  San  Martino 
and  Solferino. 

La  Marmora  (minister  of  war),  thinking  the  enemy 
would  march  straight  for  Turin,  ordered  the  right  bank  of 
the  Dora  Baltea  to  be  fortified,  and  retained  the  command 
of  the  troops  destined  to  defend  the  capital  for  himself 
These  preparations  alarmed  everyone,  and  there  was  a 
general  exodus.  The  entrenchments  were  hardly  finished 
when  Marshal  Canrobert,  who  was  to  command  one  of  the 
French  army  corps,  and  General  Froissart,  head  of  the 
engineers,  arrived  in  Turin  to  concert  matters  with  the 
king  and  the  minister  of  war.  They  were  invited  by  the 
king  to  visit  the  line  of  fortifications,  and  the  minister  of 
war,  the  chief  of  the  staff,  and  the  heads  of  the  engineers 
and  artillery  (La  Marmora,  Delia  Rocca,  Menebrea  and 
Pastore)  were  asked  to  meet  them.  Canrobert  immediately 
declared  himself  against  the  defence  of  Turin  from  that 
side,  but  courteously  praised  the  way  the  work  had  been 


WAR  WITH  AUSTRIA  IS  DECLARED     135 

carried  out  under  La  Marmora's  supervision.  Froissart, 
on  the  contrary,  roughly — almost  aggressively — criticised 
everything.  We  were  rather  hurt,  but  managed  to  conceal 
our  feelings,  all  except  Cialdini,  aide-de-camp  in  attendance 
on  the  king,  who  was  very  hot-tempered.  He  contradicted 
Froissart  so  wittily,  and  with  such  knowledge  of  military 
matters,  that  we  began  to  fear  war  might  be  declared 
between  France  and  Piedmont  instead  of  between  Pied- 
mont and  Austria.  With  some  difficulty  Menebrea  and  I 
contrived  to  change  the  conversation. 

On  the  23d  April  Baron  von  Kellersberg  brought  a 
letter  from  the  Austrian  minister,  Buol,  inviting  Count 
Cavour  to  reply  within  three  days  whether  the  government 
of  the  King  of  Sardinia  would  place  his  army  on  a  peace 
footing  and  dismiss  the  volunteers  or  not.  On  the  26th 
Cavour  gave  the  Austrian  envoy  a  negative  reply ;  the 
king  having  issued  a  proclamation  on  the  24th,  calling  his 
troops  to  arms  and  announcing  the  imminent  arrival  of  a 
large  French  army,  commanded  by  the  emperor. 

On  the  28th  April  Francis  Joseph  announced  to  his 
people  that  the  Austrian  army  had  been  ordered  to  cross 
the  Piedmontese  frontier,  and  next  day  the  regiment  of 
hussars.  King  of  Prussia,  met  our  light  cavalry  near 
Zinasco,  and  the  advanced  guard  crossed  the  Ticino  at 
Beregnardo  by  a  military  bridge.  On  the  30th  April  the 
strategical  development  of  the  Austrian  army  was  accom- 
plished behind  the  Terdoppio,  and  on  the  same  day  the 
first  French  troops  entered  Turin. 

Larmee  dltalie,  as  it  was  called,  consisted  of  about 
one  hundred  and  twenty  thousand  men  in  five  army  corps, 
four  of  twenty  thousand  men,  one  of  twelve  thousand,  and 
fifteen  thousand  men  of  the  Imperial  Guard  under  General 
Regnault  de  Saint-Jean  d'Ang61y.  The  first  corps  was 
commanded  by  Marshal  Baraguay  d'Hilliers,  the  second 
by  General  MacMahon,  the  third  by  Marshal  Canrobert, 


136      AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A    VETERAN 

the  fourth  by  General  Niel,  and  the  fifth  by  Prince  Jerome 
Napoleon. 

The  Austrians  were  said  to  be  over  two  hundred 
thousand  men  ;  but  in  the  first  battles  they  could  only 
muster  one  hundred  and  twenty  thousand,  divided  into 
five  army  corps ;  the  rest  formed  the  garrisons  of  the 
fortresses  in  Lombardy,  Venetia,  Mantua,  Verona,  Peschiera, 
etc.  The  commanders  were  Prince  Liechtenstein,  Count 
Schwartzenberg,  Count  Stadion,  Baron  Nobel,  and  Von 
Benedek.  The  division  of  reserve  cavalry  was  under 
Baron  Mensdorf,  and  a  division  of  independent  infantry 
under  Urban.  Field-marshal  Count  Giulay  was  comman- 
der-in-chief, with  Count  Valmoden  a  latere ;  the  emperor's 
chief  of  the  staff  was  Baron  Hess,  Count  Giulay's  Baron 
Kulme. 

By  the  lOth  May  all  the  French  troops  had  arrived 
in  Piedmont  ;  the  ist  and  2d  army  corps  and  the 
Imperial  Guard  disembarked  at  Genova,  and  marched  by 
Novi  on  Alessandria ;  the  3d  and  4th  came  over  the  Mont 
Cenis  and  Monginevra;  the  5th  disembarked  at  Leghorn 
for  Florence,  and,  crossing  the  Apennines,  did  not  join  the 
army  till  after  Solferino.  The  first  four  corps  took  up 
their  positions  with  us  between  S.  Salvatore  and  Casale. 

The  king  left  Turin  on  the  30th  April  and  established 
his  headquarters  at  S.  Salvatore,  near  Casale,  when  my 
hard  work  and  responsibility  as  chief  of  the  staff  began. 
La  Marmora  had  sent  twenty  thousand  men  to  occupy 
the  triangle  between  Alessandria,  Casale  and  Bassignana 
on  the  right  bank  of  the  Po,  as  soon  as  Kellersberg  left 
Turin.  His  orders  had  been  given  without  consulting  the 
commander-in-chief,  and  still  less  the  chief  of  the  staff. 
When  the  king  and  I  visited  the  troops  we  saw  how 
hazardous  their  position  was,  opposed  to  an  enemy  more 
than  four  times  as  strong  on  the  Sesia  and  the  left  bank 
of  the  Po,  occupying   the  positions  of  Vercelli,  Novara, 


INCAPACITY  OF  GIULA  V  137 

Vigevano,  etc.  Giulay,  leaving  a  corps  in  observation 
before  Casale  and  Valenza,  might  easily  have  crossed  the 
Po,  attacked  us  on  the  right  bank,  and,  placing  himself 
between  Alessandria  and  Genoa,  have  arrested  the  French 
as  they  descended  from  Novi  towards  Alessandria.  Had 
Giulay  known  his  numerical  superiority,  and  been  capable 
of  using  it,  he  might  have  prevented  the  junction  of  the 
two  armies. 

It  was  fortunate  for  us  that  the  enemy,  far  superior  in 
number,  was  led  by  an  irresolute  and  hesitating  com- 
mander. We  stood  opposite  him  for  nearly  twenty  days, 
during  which  time  he  made  no  serious  move,  and  only 
attempted  small  attacks  on  our  outposts,  which  were 
invariably  repulsed.  When,  in  after  years,  it  was  pro- 
posed to  raise  a  monument  to  Victor  Emanuel  in  memory 
of  the  campaign  of  1859,  he  used  to  say,  'The  monument 
should  not  be  dedicated  to  me,  but  to  Giulay,  for  having 
been  so  good  as  to  spare  us  until  the  arrival  of  the  French.' 

One  of  my  first  acts  was  to  recall  Cialdini  and  his 
division  from  his  position  on  the  Dora  Baltea,  and  establish 
his  headquarters  at  Casale  near  us.  On  the  3d  and  4th 
May  he  frustrated  the  enemy's  attempts  to  cross  the  Po  at 
Frassineto,  and  forced  them  to  abandon  the  positions  of 
Balzole,  Villanova  and  Terranova.  On  the  9th  and  loth 
the  Austrians  advanced  towards  Trino  and  Crescentino, 
thus  approaching  nearer  Turin.  I  sent  Castelborgo  to 
attack  their  left  flank  during  the  march,  but  before  he 
could  deploy  his  troops,  the  enemy,  to  our  surprise,  re- 
treated and  retired  across  the  Sesia. 

We  spent  ten  days  at  S.  Salvatore,  where  Garibaldi,  in 
his  new  uniform  of  general  of  brigade,  came  to  see  the 
king.  Victor  Emanuel  sent  him  to  Ivrea  to  take  command 
of  the  volunteers,  ordering  him  to  cross  the  Ticino  at 
Sesto  Calende  and  advance  on  Varese,  where  there  was  a 
strong  Austrian  force.     The  terror  and  disorder  into  which 


138      AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A    VETERAN 

he  threw  the  right  flank  of  the  enemy  is  a  matter  of 
history.  On  the  nth  May  we  left  S.  Salvatore  for  Occi- 
miana,  where  Victor  Emanuel  received  Don  Neri  Corsini, 
sent  by  the  provisional  government  of  Tuscany  to  entreat 
him  to  accept  the  sovereignty  of  the  Grand  Duchy.  The 
king's  reception  was  extremely  cordial,  but  he  would  give 
no  promise.  This  was  the  first  of  the  many  offers  which 
reached  the  Re  Galantuomo  (Honest  King)  from  the  various 
provinces  of  central  Italy. 


CHAPTER   XIII 

1859  (SECOND  PART) 

Arrival  of  Napoleon — Montebello — Concentration  of  Allied  Armies— Gari- 
baldi's Victories — Palestro — Victor  Emanuel  and  the  Zouaves — Retreat 
of  the  Austrians  —  Magenta  —  Victor  Emanuel  accepts  Sovereignty 
of  Lombardy — I  follow  Urban,  but  am  stopped  by  Desvaux, 

On  the  1 2th  May  Napoleon  III.  disembarked  at  Genoa, 
and  on  the  14th  established  his  headquarters  at  Ales- 
sandria, assuming  the  supreme  command  of  the  allied 
armies.  My  work  was  then  doubled.  I  was  perpetually 
summoned  from  Occimiano,  where  the  king  had  his  head- 
quarters, by  the  emperor  or  by  General  Vaillant,  his  head 
of  the  staff,  to  give  information  about  the  roads  and  the 
means  of  communication ;  so  to  my  other  duties  was 
added  that  of  courier  and  Maireur  to  the  French  head- 
quarters. I  had  to  think,  not  only  of  my  own  sixty 
thousand  men,  but  of  the  whole  allied  army. 

The  emperor  immediately  grasped  the  incapacity  of 
the  Austrian  commander-in-chief,  who,  for  nearly  three 
weeks,  had  kept  one  hundred  and  twenty  thousand  men  in 
line  without  attacking  the  opposing  force  of  between 
twenty-five  and  thirty  thousand.  Giulay  had  made  up 
his  mind  that  the  first  battle  was  to  be  fought  in  the  great 
plain  of  the  valley  of  the  Po,  and  kept  his  army  stationary 
between  Casale  and  Mortara,  and  Mortara  and  Novara,  in 
order  to  defend  Milan  from  that  side.     Napoleon  resolved 

139 


140      AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A    VETERAN 

to  draw  the  enemy  in  another  direction,  and  made  a  feint 
to  enter  Lombardy  by  way  of  Piacenza,  where  he  sent  a 
considerable  body  of  troops  and  part  of  his  camp  equipage. 
The  battle  of  Montebello  was  the  consequence  of  this 
move,  and  Giulay  was  for  some  days  in  doubt  as  to  the 
real  intention  of  the  emperor,  which  was  a  counter-march 
towards  the  Ticino.  The  idea  was  a  bold  one.  It  neces- 
sitated crossing  the  enemy's  front,  and  marching  round 
his  flank.  Falling  back  from  Alessandria  towards  Casale, 
and  advancing  on  Vercelli  and  Novara,  the  French  troops, 
describing  a  semi-circle,  were  to  cross  the  Ticino  at  the 
most  undefended  point  and  march  on  Milan.  This  was 
to  be  done  as  quickly  as  possible,  while  the  Austrians, 
misled  by  the  movement  towards  Piacenza,  were  on  the 
right  bank  of  the  Po.  The  Piedmontese  were  to  cross  the 
Sesia,  and  station  themselves  in  the  centre  of  the  semi- 
circle on  the  road  between  Mortara  and  Palestro,  to  protect 
the  French  advance  from  Casale  on  Vercelli.  This  plan 
resulted  in  the  two  splendid  days  of  Palestro,  and  in  the 
battle  of  Magenta  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  Ticino. 

On  the  20th  May,  the  day  on  which  our  cavalry  fought 
so  well  at  Montebello,  the  king  transferred  his  headquarters 
to  Casale.  The  Austrians,  after  some  days  of  inactivity, 
at  length  prepared  to  cross  the  Sesia  nearly  opposite 
Terranova,  a  position  occupied  by  General  Fanti's  division. 
Victor  Emanuel  had  ordered  a  bridge  to  be  thrown  across 
an  arm  of  the  river  to  a  small  island,  whence  the  passage 
of  the  enemy  could  be  observed.  They  did  not  attempt  to 
molest  our  engineers,  but  two  sharp  skirmishes  took  place 
near  by. 

On  the  evening  of  the  23d  there  was  a  continuous 
interchange  of  telegrams  between  Alessandria  and  Casale. 
Napoleon,  badly  informed,  announced  a  gathering  of  the 
Austrian's  in  force  near  Voghera,  and  he  feared  an  attack 
on   the   small  body  of  French  troops  sent   on   the  feint 


CONCENTRATION  OF  ALLIED  ARMIES     141 

towards  Piacenza.  He  begged  the  king  not  to  divide  his 
forces,  to  recall  Cialdini,  who  was  already  on  the  other  side 
of  Vercelli,  and  to  send  reinforcements  towards  Voghera. 
After  I  returned  from  Terranova  to  Casale,  having  exe- 
cuted the  emperor's  wishes,  a  telegram  with  counter  orders 
came  in.  Napoleon  having  received  more  correct  infor- 
mation, notwithstanding  the  official  bulletin,  announced  his 
departure  for  Voghera.  The  news  was  false,  but  served 
its  purpose ;  as  the  enemy,  after  vainly  trying  to  take  the 
islet,  which  had  been  well  fortified,  and  was  defended  by 
General  Mollard's  brigade,  disappeared  from  the  banks 
of  the  Sesia,  and  hurried  to  prevent  the  advance  of  the 
French  towards  Voghera. 

On  hearing  this,  the  emperor  resumed  his  plan  of  a 
counter-march,  which  he  had  hesitated  to  carry  out  owing 
to  various  false  alarms.  Late  on  the  26th  he  wrote  to 
Victor  Emanuel,  and  next  morning  we  rode  over  so  early 
to  Alessandria  that  Napoleon  was  still  in  bed.  The  con- 
centration— crossing  from  the  right  to  the  left  bank  of 
the  Po — of  both  armies  began  that  evening,  with  the 
happiest  results  for  us. 

The  positions  held  by  the  allies  on  the  27th  May  were 
as  follows  —  Marshal  Baraguay  d'Hilliers  and  General 
MacMahon  were  at  Voghera,  Casci,  Castelnuova  di  Scrivia 
and  Sale,  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Po  ;  Marshal  Canrobert 
was  at  Ponte  Curone ;  General  Niel  at  Bassignana  and 
Valenza;  the  Imperial  Guard  at  Alessandria.  Our  divi- 
sions Fanti,  Durando,  and  Cialdini  occupied  Motta  de' 
Conti,  Caresana,  Pezzana,  Prarolo,  and  Vercelli,  on  the 
right  bank  of  the  Sesia ;  Castelborgo's  division  was  half 
at  Casale,  half  at  Terranova ;  and  Cuchiari  held  the  right 
bank  of  the  Po,  from  Monti  to  Frassineto,  with  his  division. 

The  first  corps  to  leave  Alessandria  was  Canrobert's, 
in  whose  staff  was  General  Trochu,  whom  I  had  often 
seen  at  Paris,  at  the  house  of  our  mutual  friend  Alexander 


142      AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A    VETERAN 

Bixio.  Canrobert  was  exactly  what  the  French  call  un  bon 
enfant^  and  had  none  of  the  pride  and  conceit  of  other 
French  marshals,  particularly  apparent  in  those  who 
showed  least  ability  in  the  campaign  of  1859.  His  divi- 
sions always  arrived  in  time  and  in  good  order.  From 
Alessandria  he  went  to  Casale,  and  thence  to  Prarolo, 
where  he  halted  to  construct  bridges  of  boats  across  the 
Po,  opposite  Palestro,  for  the  passage  of  the  Imperial 
Guard  and  the  troops  of  Niel  and  Baraguay  d'Hilliers, 
who  were  to  push  forward  to  Ortengo. 

Our  divisions  Fanti,  Durando  and  Castelborgo  marched 
towards  Vercelli  on  the  night  of  the  28th,  to  take  up  their 
respective  positions;  Fanti  at  Confienza,  Durando  at 
Vinzaglio,  Castelborgo  at  Casalino.  Cialdini  recrossed  to 
the  left  bank  of  the  river,  and  on  the  29th  occupied 
Porrione,  not  far  from  Palestro.  The  division  Cucchiari, 
as  I  have  already  said,  was  left  at  Frassineto  to  guard 
the  Po.  On  the  same  day  Victor  Emanuel,  who  was 
delayed  a  whole  day  by  the  block  on  the  railway,  left 
Casale  for  Vercelli.  He  traversed  the  French  camp  on 
horseback,  and  was  cheered  to  the  echo  by  the  officers 
and  troops.  The  soldiers  crowded  round  to  see  him, 
and  Cler,  the  brave  and  beloved  general  who  lost  his 
life  a  few  days  later  at  Magenta,  addressed  the  king 
in  words  expressive  of  admiration  and  praise.  At 
Vercelli,  which  we  entered  about  mid-day,  the  popula- 
tion received  Victor  Emanuel  with  acclamation.  He  dis- 
mounted at  the  palace  of  Count  La  Motta,  and  soon 
afterwards  came  despatches  announcing  the  victories  of 
Garibaldi,  who  had  driven  the  cruel  and  hated  General 
Urban  out  of  the  province  of  Comasco.  On  reaching 
Vercelli  I  went  to  inspect  a  bridge  which  our  engineers 
had  been  ordered  to  make ;  to  my  surprise,  I  found  it 
was  hardly  begun,  because  the  French  had  insisted  on 
doing  the  work,  and  being  unacquainted  with  the  country, 


WE  STORM  PALESTRO  143 

they  did  not  know  where  to  get  materials.  I  had  rather 
an  altercation  with  Froissart,  who  would  not  understand 
that  to  gain  time  it  was  better  to  leave  the  execution  of 
such  things  to  us.  Of  all  the  French  generals  he  was 
the  most  difficult  to  get  on  with. 

At  daybreak  on  the  30th  I  rode  over  to  inspect  the 
positions  of  Confienza,  where  my  brother  Robert  was 
stationed  with  his  brigade  Pinerolo.  On  my  return  I 
found  the  king  on  the  railway  bridge  watching  our  troops 
march  past  and  Canrobert  throwing  bridges  over  the  river, 
nearly  opposite  Palestro,  on  which  our  right  wing  was 
advancing.  About  eleven  a  cannonade  announced  that 
the  battle  had  commenced,  and  we  galloped  off  in  the 
direction  of  Palestro. 

Palestro  is  impregnable  in  front.  There  is  only  one 
road  through  the  rice  fields,  and  the  place  is  protected 
on  that  side  by  an  earthwork,  whence  four  pieces  of 
artillery  could  stop  several  thousand  men.  Cialdini 
had  cleverly  turned  the  position  on  the  right.  We  followed 
in  his  footsteps,  and  entered  the  village,  as  our  troops, 
to  the  cry  of  '  Long  live  the  king  ! '  '  Long  live  Savoy ! ' 
were  driving  back  the  enemy  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet ; 
while  another  Austrian  brigade  was  hurrying  up  to  their 
aid.  The  struggle  was  tremendous.  The  Austrians  de- 
fended every  house,  firing  from  the  windows,  the  roofs 
and  the  walls,  whilst  our  men  pushed  forward  with 
indomitable  pluck.  The  loss  of  life  was  great,  but  we 
expelled  the  enemy.  On  our  left,  Durando  captured 
the  position  of  Vinzaglio,  after  some  brilliant  bayonet 
charges.  Captain  Vecchi,  one  of  our  staff  officers,  dis- 
mounted, and  at  the  head  of  his  men  rushed,  sword  in 
hand,  at  the  barricade  erected  at  the  entrance  of  the 
village.  Springing  on  the  top,  he  pulled  up  those  below, 
stormed  the  second  barricade,  and  with  his  handful  of 
men   drove  the   enemy  before   him   without  receiving  a 


144      AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A    VETERAN 

scratch.  General  Fanti  drove  out  the  small  body  of 
Austrians  who  held  Casalino,  and  then  hurried  to 
Confienza,  where  he  again  repulsed  the  enemy.  Our 
victory  was  complete,  and  all  the  more  glorious  because 
gained  without  extraneous  help. 

In  the  evening,  the  emperor  rode  over  from  Vercelli 
to  congratulate  the  king,  and  on  his  return  sent  a  regi- 
ment of  Zouaves,  about  two  thousand  four  hundred  men, 
under  Colonel  Chabron,  with  orders  to  place  them- 
selves at  the  disposition  of  Victor  Emanuel.  Napoleon 
foresaw  that  the  enemy  would  receive  reinforcements 
during  the  night,  and  at  daylight  try  to  recapture 
Palestro. 

The  king  passed  the  night  in  a  house  adjoining  the 
big  farm  of  Torrione ;  and  in  the  early  morning  of  the 
31st,  while  Cialdini  and  I  were  taking  our  orders  for 
the  day,  a  cannon  shot  warned  us  that  the  enemy  was 
approaching.  Cialdini's  divisions  and  the  Zouaves  were 
the  only  troops  near  Torrione,  and  forty  thousand  men 
were  marching  to  attack  us.  We  immediately  mounted 
and  sent  off  a  considerable  body  of  troops  towards  our 
left ;  but  suspecting  that  the  enemy's  advance  on  that  side 
might  only  be  a  feint,  the  king  and  I  climbed  up  the 
campanile  of  the  little  church  and  found  our  surmise  to 
be  correct.  The  greater  portion  of  the  Austrian  army  was 
to  our  right,  with  the  intention  of  turning  our  position 
and  cutting  us  off  from  the  bridge  over  the  Sesia,  pre- 
pared for  the  passage  of  Canrobert's  troops.  Our 
right  was  weak,  but  fortunately  the  Zouaves  came  up  at 
double-quick  time,  followed  by  four  pieces  of  artillery. 
As  they  debouched  on  to  the  piazza  in  Palestro,  the  king 
descended  from  the  campanile  and  took  his  place  in  their 
ranks.  I  remained  for  a  short  time  on  the  tower,  but, 
anxious  not  to  lose  sight  of  Victor  Emanuel,  soon  joined 
him.     We  were  in  the  midst  of  the  Zouaves,  who  rushed 


VICTOR  EMANUEL  AND  THE  ZOUA  VES     145 

like  lions  upon  the  Austrians,  drove  them  back,  and 
threw  many  into  the  canal.  Colonel  Chabron  approached 
the  king  and  said,  *  Sire,  retires  vous,  ce  nest  pas  ici  votre 
place.'  '  Dans  le  danger,'  replied  His  Majesty ;  '  ma  place 
est  au  milieu  des  miens,  et  aujourd^hui vous  ites  des  miens' 
The  slaughter  was  great.  Our  brigades  Regina  and 
Savona  and  the  Zouaves  covered  themselves  with  glory, 
took  many  prisoners  and  several  cannon. 

In  the  midst  of  all  these  horrors  comic  scenes  occurred. 
One  of  the  enemy's  ammunition  waggons  was  driven  up  at 
full  gallop  by  two  of  our  infantry  soldiers  as  postillions, 
while  another  on  the  box  shouted,  '  Faster ;  go  on,  postil- 
lions ;  let  us  enjoy  our  carriage  and  horses  now  we've  got 
them  ! '  Then  came  several  of  our  men,  with  some  Zouaves 
harnessed  to  cannon  taken  from  the  enemy,  hallooing,  'Make 
way  for  the  new  artillerymen ! '  followed  by  prisoners  of 
every  arm.  The  poor  fellows  made  signs  that  they  were 
suffering  from  hunger  and  thirst ;  and  the  Zouaves,  so 
terrible  whilst  fighting,  were  kindly  and  compassionate. 
They  produced  bits  of  bread  from  their  pockets,  and  ran 
to  the  fountain  to  get  water,  which  they  offered,  with 
caressing  gestures,  such  as  one  might  use  to  children. — 
*  Tu  as  f aim,  mon  petit  ?  Mange,  mange,  moi  qa.  Et  avale  ce 
verre  deau  fraiche!  We  remained  masters  of  the  posi- 
tions, victorious  all  along  the  line.  The  emperor  came 
from  Vercelli  to  compliment  the  king  and  thank  him,  for 
this  victory  enabled  Canrobert  to  execute  his  march 
from  Vercelli  to  Novara,  and  secured  the  success  of  the 
enterprise. 

On  his  way  back  to  Vercelli,  Napoleon  met  a  detach- 
ment of  the  Nizza  cavalry  escorting  prisoners.  The  young 
officer  in  command  halted  to  render  military  honours  to  the 
emperor,  who  returned  his  salute  and  said  some  courteous 
words  about  the  successful  issue  of  the  day.  The  sub- 
lieutenant replied  in  such  pure  French  that  Napoleon  was 

K 


146      AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A    VETERAN 

struck,  and  asked  who  he  was.   '  I  am  the  Duke  of  Chartres,' 
was  the  answer.^ 

During  the  night  of  the  31st  May  a  deputation  of 
Zouaves  came  to  our  modest  quarters  at  Torrione  and 
insisted  on  seeing  the  king.  Tired  out,  he  was  fast  asleep ; 
but  his  servant  woke  him,  and,  half  dressed,  he  came  out 
to  see  his  comrades  of  the  day's  fight.  They  were  soldiers 
and  corporals,  with  an  officer  as  spokesman,  who  presented 
Victor  Emanuel  with  the  stripes  of  a  corporal  of  Zouaves. 
He  thanked  him  heartily,  and  they  cheered  him  as  they 
had  done  when  he  fought  in  their  ranks  like  a  simple 
corporal — '  Vive  notre  chef.  Vive  le  preux  Victor  Emanuel 
de  Savoie.' 

Next  day  the  king  visited  the  battlefield,  received  with 
acclamation  by  the  Zouaves  and  other  troops.  We  found 
wounded  men  lying  in  the  wheat,  who  had  passed  a  night 
of  agony  without  succour  and  without  a  drop  of  water.  For 
several  days  water  was  hard  to  get ;  so  many  corpses  had 
been  thrown  into  the  canals  that  even  the  mills  were  clogged 
by  them.  In  the  evening  the  emperor  transferred  his  head- 
quarters to  Novara,  which  the  French  had  taken  after  very 
slight  resistance. 

On  the  2d  June  the  chief  part  of  the  French  army  con- 
centrated at  Novara,  while  an  advanced  guard  pushed  on 
towards  the  Ticino,  which  the  Austrians  had  crossed  the 
day  before  by  a  forced  march.  They  tried  to  blow  up  the 
bridge  of  S.  Martino  di  Trecate  behind  them,  but  their 
powder  was  so  bad  that  the  damage  done  was  slight. 
Nevertheless,  Napoleon  caused  another  bridge  to  be  thrown 
across  for  the  passage  of  his  troops.  That  same  night  three 
of  our  divisions — Castelborgo,  Fanti  and  Durando  —  ad- 

^  Robert  Ferdinand  d'Orleans,  Duke  of  Chartres,  had  been  sent  to  our 
Royal  Military  Academy  to  study,  and  had  just  left  it  with  the  grade  of  sub- 
lieutenant in  the  cavalry.  He  was  a  handsome,  intelligent  youth,  and  glad  to 
undergo  his  first  baptism  of  fire  in  the  company  of  his  compatriots. 


GIULA  V  RETREA TS  ON  MAGENTA        147 

vanced  from  Palestro  towards  Galliate,  followed  by  Can- 
robert.  Cialdini  remained  at  Vercelli  to  guard  the  Sesia, 
and  Cucchiari  was  at  Casale  to  guard  the  Po. 

Giulay,  who  only  understood  after  the  battle  of  Palestro 
that  the  whole  allied  army  was  on  his  flank,  retreated, 
abandoning  Vercelli  and  Novara.  With  unusual  rapidity 
of  conception  and  movement,  he  summoned  his  troops 
from  Vigevano  and  Abbiategrasso  and  massed  his  forces 
at  Magenta.  It  was  an  excellent  tactical  position ;  more 
extensive,  more  open,  in  every  way  better  than  Palestro, 
and  well  protected  by  the  double  line  of  the  Ticino  and  the 
canal  called  the  Naviglio,  which  supplied  Milan  with  water. 
On  the  3d  the  Austrian  commander-in-chief  had  made  all 
his  arrangements  for  concentrating  his  forces  at  Magenta 
to  oppose  the  advance  of  the  allied  army  on  Milan,  when 
Field-Marshal  Baron  Hess,  chief  of  the  staff,  arrived  from 
Verona  with  full  powers  from  the  Emperor  Francis  Joseph. 
News  of  the  defeat  at  Palestro  had  reached  him,  but  he 
was  not  aware  that  the  army  was  in  full  retreat,  and  his 
orders  were  to  hold  the  district  of  Lomellina  ^  at  any 
sacrifice.  Giulay  had  to  confess  that  it  was  already  aban- 
doned, and  that  the  allies  were  menacing  Milan.  Baron 
Hess  changed  some  of  the  dispositions  made  by  Giulay, 
and  sent  orders  to  part  of  the  Austrian  troops  to  remain  at 
Vigevano  and  Abbiategrasso,  thus  diminishing  their  avail- 
able number  at  Magenta,  where  they  only  had  fifty  thou- 
sand men  on  the  4th  May.  Napoleon  had  given  orders 
that  the  corps  of  MacMahon,  Niel  and  Baraguay  d'Hilliers, 
and  our  divisions  Castelborgo,  Durando  and  Fanti,  were  to 
cross  the  Ticino  from  the  right  to  the  left  bank  on  that 
same  day.  He  was  ignorant  of  Giulay's  movements,  so  the 
engagement  of  Robecchetto,  which  took  place  early  in  the 
morning  between  the  troops  of  MacMahon  and  those  of 
Clam  Gallas,  and  the  battle  of  Magenta  in  the  afternoon, 
*  LomelllDa  is  in  the  province  of  Pa  via. — Translator's  Note. 


148      AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A    VETERAN 

were  surprises.  The  affair  of  Robecchetto  retarded  the 
crossing  of  the  river  by  MacMahon's  corps,  so  the  divisions 
of  Fanti  and  Durando,  who  were  to  follow  in  his  wake,  had 
to  wait  from  six  in  the  morning  until  eleven.  While  the 
king  stood  near  the  bridge  to  see  the  troops  march  past, 
we  heard  that  General  Urban  was  in  the  neighbourhood. 
Garibaldi  had  driven  him  out  of  the  district  of  Comasco, 
and  he  was  reported  to  be  somewhere  near  Monza.  I  im- 
mediately sent  out  small  detachments  to  reconnoitre,  and 
before  one  o'clock,  while  Fanti  and  Durando  were  crossing 
the  river  with  their  divisions,  the  news  was  confirmed. 

As  soon  as  our  troops  reached  the  left  bank  their  pro- 
gress was  arrested.  We  could  not  make  out  the  nature  of 
the  obstacle,  so  the  king  sent  me  to  Fanti  to  ask  what  had 
happened.  MacMahon's  military  train  stopped  the  way, 
and  there  was  no  hope  of  our  troops  advancing  for  hours. 
I  went  in  search  of  MacMahon,  who  was  pushing  forward 
to  get  up  with  the  enemy,  whom  he  found  near  the 
bridge  of  Buffalora.  The  marshal  was  anxiously  awaiting 
his  second  column  under  General  Espinasse,  who  had  mis- 
taken the  road,  and  was  much  put  out  at  the  enforced 
delay  of  our  divisions,  on  whose  aid  he  was  counting, 
particularly  as  Espinasse  was  not  to  be  seen.  But  he  could 
suggest  no  remedy  save  patience ;  his  baggage  was  so 
hopelessly  entangled  in  the  midst  of  the  troops  that  the 
road  could  not  be  cleared.  I  returned  to  tell  Fanti  to  try 
and  advance  by  lanes  and  across  fields  to  join  MacMahon, 
and  ordered  Durando  to  change  front  and  intercept  Urban 
on  the  left.  MacMahon  had  opened  fire  at  Buffalora  for 
more  than  an  hour,  but  ordered  it  to  cease  while,  with  a 
small  cavalry  escort,  he  went  in  search  of  Espinasse.  This 
placed  the  emperor,  with  part  of  the  Guard  and  a  brigade 
of  Zouaves,  in  considerable  peril,  he  having  hurried  from 
the  bridge  of  S.  Martino  to  the  Naviglio  as  soon  as  the 
cannonade   began   at   Buffalora.      Before    he   arrived   the 


BATTLE  OF  MAGENTA  149 

Austrians  had  blown  up  all  the  bridges,  and  he  was  forced 
to  throw  over  new  ones  while  exposed  to  a  murderous  fire 
from  the  enemy's  guns  on  the  left  bank  of  the  canal,  which 
was  considerably  above  him.  Several  small  but  bloody 
engagements  took  place  on  either  bank,  and  the  hours 
passed  slowly  to  the  emperor,  who  began  to  be  nervous 
about  the  issue  of  events. 

Suddenly,  towards  evening,  came  the  good  news  that 
MacMahon  had  found  Espinasse,  outflanked  the  Austrians 
on  the  right,  and  was  pressing  them  hard  on  every  side. 
Soon  afterwards  we  knew  that  he  had  driven  them  out  of 
their  position  ;  and,  helped  by  Fanti,  who  arrived  late,  but 
in  time  to  be  of  use,  had  destroyed  the  barricades  at  the 
station  and  driven  the  enemy  from  their  last  entrenchments 
The  allies  were  victorious,  and  the  troops  passed  the  night 
on  the  battlefield. 

On  the  5th,  when  the  emperor  knew  the  particulars  of 
the  battle,  he  made  up  his  mind  that  the  victory  was  due 
to  MacMahon,  whom  he  created  a  Marshal  of  France  and 
Duke  of  Magenta.  Considerable  envy  was  aroused  by 
the  bestowal  of  such  high  honours,  and  MacMahon's  want 
of  forethought  and  clearness  in  giving  orders  were  much 
criticised  ;  by  his  delay  he  upset  the  plan  of  attack  and 
nearly  caused  it  to  fail. 

The  Austrians  retreated  in  the  direction  of  the  Adda 
during  the  night  after  the  battle  of  Magenta.  Faithful  to 
his  first  idea  of  fighting  a  great  battle  on  the  plains  of 
Lombardy,  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Quadrilateral,  Giulay  left 
the  road  to  Milan  open  to  the  allied  army,  and  was  only 
attacked  by  the  French  at  Melegnano,  when  Baraguay 
d'Hilliers  drove  the  last  of  their  troops  towards  the  Adda 
on  the  day  of  the  entry  into  Milan. 

The  crossing  of  the  Ticino  by  a  large  body  of  the  allied 
troops  was  retarded  by  the  unexpected  battle  of  Magenta, 
which  was  a  surprise.    The  baggage  and  military  train  of  all 


150      AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A    VETERAN 

the  French  corps  were  far  too  numerous,  and  their  leaders 
miscalculated  the  time  they  would  take  to  pass  over,  so 
that  we  were  kept  waiting  the  whole  of  the  5th  May 
before  our  divisions  could  cross  the  river.  The  king  was 
obliged  to  remain  at  Galliate  during  the  night  of  the  4th 
and  next  morning  at  daybreak  he  went  to  see  the  emperor 
at  S.  Martino  di  Trecate,  and  visited  the  battlefield  of 
Magenta  with  him.  Victor  Emanuel  hoped  to  see  our 
troops  defiling  across  the  bridges  in  the  afternoon.  I  went 
to  ask  at  what  hour  I  was  to  order  our  divisions  to  be 
ready,  and  found  the  emperor  seated  on  a  rickety  chair 
near  a  bridge  with  Baraguay  d'Hilliers,  whose  men  were 
marching  past.  Turning  to  the  marshal,  Napoleon  said, 
*  Vojyons,  a  quelle  heure  nos  troupes  auront-elles  fini  de 
passer  ? '  Pulling  out  his  watch,  Baraguay  answered,  '  // 
n'est  pas  encore  deux  heures.  Canrobert  qui  va  venir  apres 
mot,  aura  fini  a  quatre  heures,  Niel  a  six^  '  Vous  e^itendez 
general,'  said  the  emperor  to  me,  '  Baraguay  croit  qu' apres 
six  heures  les  pants  seront  litres.^  I  saw  that  Baraguay  was 
quite  out  in  his  reckoning,  and  that  the  French  army  could 
not  cross  the  Ticino,  there  being  only  two  bridges,  before 
late  in  the  night.  Pretending  to  have  understood  six  in 
the  morning,  I  answered,  '  C'est  bien,  sire,  demain  matin 
bien  avant  six  heures  nos  troupes  seront  prites  pour  passer 
le  fleuve'  'Mais  nan,  mais  non,'  exclaimed  Napoleon, 
^Baraguay  entend  dire  ce  soir  a  six  heures!  I  bowed, 
but  my  face  must  have  shown  that  I  was  not  convinced. 
As  a  fact,  the  bridges  were  not  free  until  two  o'clock  that 
night. 

The  next  morning  the  king  again  visited  the  emperor 
at  S.  Martino,  and  in  his  presence  received  the  Milanese 
deputation,  which  came  to  announce  the  evacuation  of 
Milan  by  the  Austrians,  and  the  proclamation  by  the 
municipal  council  of  Victor  Emanuel  as  king.  They 
begged    him    to    come    as    soon    as    possible    and    take 


A  USTRIANS  E  VA  CUA  TE  MILAN         1 5 1 

possession  of  the  city.  Victor  Emanuel  accepted  the 
sovereignty,  and  promised  that  the  troops  should  start 
immediately  on  their  way  to  Milan. 

Leaving  Magenta,  the  king  crossed  the  Ticino  by  a 
bridge  of  boats  and  went  to  our  headquarters  at  Lainate. 
The  emperor  sent  to  warn  us  that  an  Austrian  corps,  under 
General  Urban,  menaced  our  flank,  and  as  the  letter  con- 
tained no  instructions  the  king  was  in  doubt  whether  to 
remain  on  the  defensive  or  go  in  search  of  the  enemy.  To 
put  an  end  to  this  uncertainty  I  asked  his  leave  to  take  a 
small  division  of  six  squadrons  of  light  cavalry,  artillery  and 
Bersaglieri,  and  scour  the  country.  I  soon  found  out  that 
the  enemy's  rearguard  was  only  a  few  hours'  march  dis- 
tant, and  that  they  were  exhausted  by  fatigue  and  priva- 
tions. My  men,  on  the  contrary,  were  fresh,  well  fed  and 
eager  to  fight,  so  there  was  every  probability  of  my 
catching  up  the  Austrians  and  forcing  them  to  fight  or 
surrender.  We  gained  rapidly  upon  Urban,  who  had 
halted  at  Vespolate  to  flog  some  men  who  had  fallen 
out  of  the  ranks  ;  and  in  forty  minutes  we  expected  to 
come  up  to  him,  when  some  French  officers  galloped  up 
with  a  white  flag  of  truce.  General  Desvaux  had  sent 
them,  in  the  name  of  the  emperor,  to  call  upon  the 
Austrian  commander  to  surrender.  We  were,  of  course, 
obliged  to  stop  and  await  their  return.  In  vain  we  waited 
till  night  closed  in,  when  I  sent  back  to  Lainate  to  inform 
the  king,  who  despatched  Count  Charles  di  Robilant  to  the 
French  headquarters  at  Magenta  to  ask  for  an  explanation. 
The  emperor  was  already  in  bed,  but  received  Robilant  at 
once,  and  said  there  must  have  been  some  misunderstand- 
ing. He  had  given  Desvaux  permission  to  pursue  Urban 
with  his  regiment,  but  could  not  conceive  why  a  flag  of 
truce  had  been  sent.  The  mystery  was  afterwards  solvea 
Desvaux  took  the  wrong  road,  and  only  discovered  his 
mistake  too  late.     Then,  counting  on  the  exhausted  con- 


152      AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A    VETERAN 

dition  of  Urban 's  troops,  he  thought  they  would  surrender. 
But  he  was  wrong  ;  and  the  delay  of  the  French  officers  in 
notifying  his  refusal  deprived  me  of  the  honour  and  satis- 
faction of  inflicting  a  lesson  on  the  imperious  and  cruel 
Austrian  general. 


CHAPTER    XIV 

1859  (THIRD   part) 

Entry  into  Milan — Te  Deutn  in  Cathedral — We  enter  Brescia — Deputations 
from  Trieste  and  Bologna — The  Empress  advises  Napoleon  to  return 
to  France — Solferino — S.  Martino — We  invest  Peschiera — Austrians 
send  Flag  of  Truce — Armistice — Violent  Scene  between  Victor 
Emanuel  and  Cavour — Cavour  resigns — Napoleon  and  Victor 
Emanuel  enter  Milan — Cold  Reception  at  Turin. 

On  the  7th  June  we  arrived  outside  the  walls  of  Milan, 
and  next  morning  entered  the  city  by  the  Porta  Sempione, 
where  a  division  of  infantry  and  one  of  cavalry  was  drawn 
up.  The  procession  was  opened  by  a  squadron  of  the 
Cents  Gardes,  followed  by  all  the  aides-de-camp  of  the  king, 
then  by  those  of  the  emperor  ;  the  two  sovereigns  rode  to- 
gether, and  after  them  came  the  officers  of  the  staff  of  both 
armies,  and  another  squadron  of  Guards  closed  the  cortege. 
At  about  nine  o'clock  we  passed  under  the  magnificent 
triumphal  arch  raised  to  the  memory  of  Napoleon  I.,  and 
transformed  by  the  House  of  Austria  to  a  monument  to 
their  own  glory.  The  streets  were  crowded  with  people 
and  decked  with  the  Italian  and  French  colours.  A  con- 
tinuous rain  of  flowers  and  enthusiastic  cheers  for  the 
emperor  and  for  the  king,  for  the  Piedmontese  and  the 
French,  accompanied  us  all  the  way.  Involuntarily  I 
thought  of  poor  Charles  Albert  when,  in  August  1848,  he 
turned  to  me  on  the  steps  of  the  Greppi  Palace  and  said, 
'  Ah,  La  Rocca,  quelle  journ^e  f ' 

153 


154      AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A    VETERAN 

Lodgings  had  been  prepared  for  the  emperor  in  the 
villa  of  the  public  gardens  built  for  Prince  Eugene  Beau- 
harnais,  Viceroy  of  Italy,  by  Napoleon  I.,  and  afterwards 
inhabited  by  the  Austrian  archdukes.  The  king  took 
up  his  residence  in  the  splendid  palace  Serbelloni-Busca. 

The  sovereigns  went  in  state  to  the  cathedral  on  the 
9th  June  to  hear  the  Te  Deum  for  the  liberation  of  Milan, 
when  a  disagreeable  incident  happened  for  us  Italians. 
When  the  mass  was  over,  the  Abbe  Laine,  chaplain  to 
the  emperor,  intoned  the  Domine,  salvmnfac  Iniperatorem 
nostrum,  Napoleonem,  answered  by  the  band  of  the  Guides, 
The  same  orenius  ought  to  have  been  sung  for  Victor 
Emanuel,  but  his  chaplain  never  thought  of  arranging 
with  the  emperor's  chaplain  or  with  our  military  band; 
so  nothing  was  done,  and  we  left  the  church  with  a  painful 
impression. 

Napoleon  and  Victor  Emanuel  remained  a  day  or  two 
at  Milan,  where  General  Castelborgo  was  left  as  governor. 
I  was  obliged  to  leave  after  the  service  to  obtain  precise 
information  about  the  engagement  of  Melegnano,  and  give 
orders  in  case  the  enemy  should  attack  us  on  the  other  side 
of  Milan. 

From  the  day  we  left  the  Lombard  capital  until  the 
Austrians  retreated  beyond  the  Mincio — from  the  nth  to 
the  2 1st  June — with  the  exception  of  a  few  days  spent 
at  Brescia,  we  were  always  engaged  in  forced  marches 
ordered  by  the  emperor.  Evidently  we  were  sent  as  an 
advanced  guard,  while  his  own  troops  marched  leisurely ; 
so  that  we  arrived  under  the  walls  of  Brescia  many  days 
before  them.  He  was  puzzled  as  to  the  ultimate  designs 
of  the  Austrian  commander-in-chief,  who  seemed  inclined 
to  cross  the  Chiese  and  concentrate  his  forces  at  Monte- 
chiari  in  readiness  for  the  great  battle  which  had  been 
talked  of  for  more  than  a  month.  There  were  constant 
false  alarms ;   and   as   soon  as   our  troops  advanced  the 


WE  ENTER  BRESCIA  155 

enemy  retreated,  wearing  our  men  out  in  fatiguing  and 
useless  marches. 

Victor  Emanuel  left  Milan  for  Vimercate  on  the  nth, 
and  after  crossing  the  Adda  and  the  Oglio,  arrived  near 
Brescia  on  the  15th  without  meeting  the  Austrians.  He 
did  not  wish  to  enter  the  city  so  long  before  Napoleon 
arrived,  so  established  his  headquarters  at  Castegnato  near 
by — an  excellent  position  for  observing  the  enemy's  move- 
ments— under  the  impression  that  Giulay  intended  giving 
battle  at  Montechiari.  Our  troops  were  stationed  in  the 
strong  positions  of  Castenedolo  when  he  retired  and 
crossed  to  the  left  bank  of  the  Chiesi.  We  thus  lost  a 
good  opportunity  of  fighting  him. 

Meanwhile,  Garibaldi  had  attacked  and  beaten  the 
Austrians  at  Tre  Ponti,  aided  by  Cialdini,  who  had  been 
sent,  by  desire  of  the  emperor,  to  assist  the  movements 
of  the  volunteers  in  the  valleys  of  the  Oglio  and  the  Mella, 
whence  the  Austrians  might  have  attacked  us  on  the  flank. 
As  soon  as  Cialdini  reached  Salo,  on  the  lake  of  Garda, 
he  constructed  a  battery  to  sink  the  enemy's  boats,  who 
precipitately  retired. 

On  the  17th  June,  the  day  before  the  arrival  of  the 
French,  we  entered  Brescia.  The  reception  was,  if  possible, 
more  enthusiastic  than  at  Milan,  Not  a  window  but  was 
decorated  with  the  national  colours,  and  flowers  rained 
thick  on  us  and  our  horses.  We  spent  three  days  there, 
well  lodged  and  well  fed — a  pleasant  change  after  so  many 
privations.  On  the  20th  I  celebrated  my  fifty-second 
birthday,  thankful  for  my  robust  constitution,  which  enabled 
me  to  resist  fatigue  better  than  many  a  younger  man. 

The  French  troops  were  forced  to  halt  for  a  few  days 
for  want  of  provisions.  Their  commissariat  was  inferior 
to  ours,  and  there  was  considerable  disorder  and  peculation. 
Many  years  afterwards  I  was  at  the  Chartreuse  of  Grenoble, 
and  the  abbot  told  me  one  of  his  monks  had  been  in  the 


156      AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A    VETERAN 

campaign  of  1859,  but  was  so  horrified  by  the  carnage  at 
Magenta  that  he  left  the  service  and  entered  the  convent. 
As  the  monks  passed  to  go  into  church,  the  abbot  pointed 
the  man  out,  and  I  recognised  a  French  officer  who  had 
disappeared,  with  some  others,  when  an  inquiry  into  the 
disorders  of  the  commissariat  department  was  made. 
Leaving  Brescia,  we  crossed  the  Chiese  at  Calcinato,  where 
the  king  established  his  headquarters.  On  the  21st  June 
all  the  divisions  were  on  the  left  bank  ;  the  ist  and  the  5th 
at  Lonato,  the  2d  at  Calcinato,  the  3d  at  Desenzano,  and 
the  cavalry  between  Bedizzole  and  Lonato.  Deputations 
from  the  cities  of  Trent  and  Bologna  came  to  Calcinato  to 
express  their  desire  to  be  annexed  to  Piedmont.  The 
king  thanked  the  latter,  but  said  for  the  moment  he  could 
only  accord  them  military  protection,  with  a  view  to  their 
assisting  in  the  great  cause  of  Italian  independence.  The 
deputies  from  Trent  he  received  with  courtesy,  without 
pronouncing  a  word  that  could  raise  any  hope  that  he 
would  accede  to  their  wishes.  Italian  Tyrol  formed  part 
of  the  German  Confederation,  with  which  it  was  not  our 
interest  to  interfere. 

On  the  23d  the  emperor  came  to  visit  Victor  Emanuel 
at  Lonato,  and  inspect  the  positions  to  be  occupied,  with  a 
view  to  crossing  the  Mincio  and  besieging  Peschiera  or 
Verona.  It  was  near  lunch  time  when  Napoleon,  dis- 
missing the  suite,  asked  the  king  to  ride  up  a  hill  near  by, 
whence  a  view  of  all  the  positions  might  be  obtained.  No 
one  had  been  invited  to  follow  the  sovereigns,  but  after 
they  had  gone  a  few  steps,  Victor  Emanuel,  always  ac- 
customed to  have  me  by  his  side  as  a  guide,  looked  back 
and  beckoned  to  me  to  join  them.  I  soon  saw  that  the 
emperor  did  not  care  about  examining  the  positions,  but 
that  his  object  was  to  be  alone  with  the  king  in  some  quiet 
place.  We  were  more  than  half  way  up  the  hill,  and  I 
thought  they  would  ride  to  the  summit  while  I  remained 


EMPRESS  AD  VISES  NAPOLEON'S  RETURN  157 

on  the  slope.  But  the  emperor  pulled  up  his  horse  close 
to  where  I  was,  and  taking  a  letter  from  his  pocket,  read 
it  aloud  to  Victor  Emanuel,  I  feigned  to  examine  the 
country  through  my  field-glasses,  but  could  not  avoid 
hearing  every  word.  The  letter  was  from  the  empress,  who 
had  been  named  regent  during  her  husband's  absence,  and 
was  evidently  one  of  a  series.  Alluding  to  certain  designs  of 
the  German  Confederation,  and  to  the  approach  of  Prussian 
troops  towards  Coblenz  and  Cologne,  she  complained  of 
the  insufficient  forces  left  in  France  in  case  of  a  possible 
Prussian  invasion,  and  requested  the  emperor  to  come  to 
an  immediate  decision,  and  send  back  part  of  the  Armie 
d'ltalie.  She  bade  him  consider  the  terrible  consequences 
of  a  defeat  on  the  Rhine,  and  advised  him  to  take  advan- 
tage of  the  victories  already  won  to  conclude  peace,  and 
return  to  France  to  stem  the  growing  discontent  at  the 
menacing  advance  of  Prussia. 

Victor  Emanuel  listened  in  silence ;  he  understood,  as 
I  did,  that  all  was  finished,  and  that  the  emperor  would 
not  risk  his  own  throne  to  serve  Italy.  Slowly  and 
silently  the  two  sovereigns  descended  the  hill,  without 
giving  another  thought  to  the  siege  of  Peschiera  or 
Verona,  Reading  the  letter  of  the  empress,  without 
any  comment,  was  a  tacit  retraction  by  the  emperor  of 
his  promise  to  free  Italy  from  the  Alps  to  the  Adriatic. 
It  was  the  first  intimation  that  he  meant  to  stop  short 
at  the  Mincio, 

At  the  lunch  given  by  the  king  to  the  emperor  at 
Lonato  I  sat  opposite  the  latter,  next  to  an  officer  of  his 
suite.  We  were  talking  of  the  more  or  less  probability  of 
a  pitched  battle,  and  my  neighbour  asked  my  opinion, 
'  Hitherto,'  I  answered,  *  my  forecasts  have  been  pretty 
good  ones.  I  suspect  we  shall  see  no  more  battles  on  the 
right  bank  of  the  Mincio.'  The  emperor,  whose  sense  of 
hearing  was  extraordinarily  acute,  laughed  and  said, '  What 


158      AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A    VETERAN 

a  prophet !     How  can  there  be  any  battle  when  there  is  no 
enemy  on  this  side  ? ' 

No  one  could  imagine  that  a  few  hours  later  the  Aus- 
trians  would  cross  the  river  and  attack  us  in  our  positions 
on  the  right  bank.     The  order  of  the  day,  published  in  the 
evening  of  the  23d  for  the  24th  June,  was  as  follows : — 
*  1st,  3d  and  5th  divisions  are  to  leave  Lonato  for  the  siege 
of  Peschiera,  keeping  on   the  right  bank  of  the  Mincio. 
The  2d  division,  with  the  cavalry,  will  remain  at  Lonato 
in  reserve ;  headquarters  to  be  moved  to  Rivoltella.'     But 
that  night  the  enemy  threw  a  large  number  of  bridges  over 
the  Mincio,  and  before  daylight  their  army  had  crossed. 
Colonel  Cadorna  fell  in  with  some  Austrian  outposts,  and 
the  fusillade  gave  the  alarm.     By  the  king's  order,  I  at 
once  sent  an  officer  to  Castiglione,  where  the  emperor  had 
just  arrived  from  Montechiari,  to  warn  him,  and  soon  after- 
wards  came  a   note  from  him,  saying,  '  Eighty  thousand 
(there  were  over  one  hundred  thousand)  Austrians  have 
suddenly  appeared  on  my  front.     Send  a  strong  reinforce- 
ment in  the  direction  of  Solferino.'     The  king  replied,  '  I 
send    part    of  divisions    Fanti    and    Durando.      At    this 
moment  I  am  informed  that   the  enemy  is  advancing  in 
force  on  our  right,  at  Madonna  della   Scoperta,  and   on 
our  left  at    S.    Martino.     I   must   retain   the  rest  of  my 
troops  in  those  positions  for  our  own  defence.' 

Napoleon  had  advanced  cautiously,  and  kept  his  army 
well  together  until  he  reached  the  Chiese,  when,  seeing  the 
enemy  withdraw  to  such  a  distance,  he  thought  he  might 
allow  a  larger  space  to  intervene  between  the  different  corps. 
Thus,  when  the  engagement  on  the  24th  began,  he  found 
himself  with  only  the  Imperial  Guard  and  MacMahon's 
corps  at  hand.  Baraguay  d'Hilliers,  however,  soon  hurried 
up,  and  reinforcements  were  despatched  to  Solferino,  where 
the  battle  began  to  rage  furiously  about  mid-day.  The 
Emperor  Francis  Joseph  led  the  Austrian  army  in  person. 


BATTLE  OF  SOLFERINO  159 

and  the  struggle  was  a  tremendous  one.  Napoleon,  with 
the  two  army  corps,  gained  a  complete  victory  at  Solferino, 
and  was  master  of  the  field  of  battle  about  one  o'clock ; 
while  at  Robecco,  Casanova,  Montefontana  and  Cavriano 
the  corps  of  Canrobert  and  Niel  beat  off  repeated  attacks, 
and  at  length  forced  the  centre  of  the  Austrian  army  to  retire. 

We  were  not  so  fortunate  in  the  early  part  of  the  day. 
Durando's  advanced  guard  repulsed  a  first  attack  by  four 
brigades  of  Stadion's  corps  at  Madonna  della  Scoperta,  but, 
overcome  by  superior  numbers,  were  driven  back  into 
the  Val  di  Quadro.  Benedek,  concentrated  at  Pozzolengo, 
repeatedly  charged  MoUard  and  Cucchiari  at  S.  Martino, 
whose  forces  were  insufficient  to  defend  so  extended  a  line, 
and  at  last  gave  way.  Towards  mid-day  I  was  warned 
there  was  no  unity  of  command,  and  consequently  no  con- 
centration of  forces,  which  were,  on  the  contrary,  broken  up 
into  various  detachments.  Knowing  that  General  Alphonse 
La  Marmora  was  on  the  spot  as  a  simple  spectator,  I  sent 
one  of  the  king's  aides-de-camp  to  order  him  to  assume  the 
command  of  the  two  corps  Durando  and  Fanti.  This  he  did 
with  considerable  success,  but  the  enemy  was  so  superior 
to  us  in  number  that  a  victory  could  not  be  hoped  for. 

The  king  and  I  were  on  rising  ground  in  front  of 
Castelvenzago,  whence  we  could  follow  the  phases  of  the 
battle  through  our  field-glasses.  The  enemy  had  retired 
from  Madonna  della  Scoperta,  but  occupied  the  position  of 
S.  Martino  in  great  strength.  Our  2d  division  had 
been  ordered  up  to  support  the  other  two,  and  Victor 
Emanuel  was  fuming  with  impatience  at  seeing  our  men 
worsted  and  not  being  among  them.  In  spite  of  my 
remonstrances,  he  insisted  on  descending  into  the  plain 
to  join  the  troops  and  encourage  them.  Followed  by 
several  aides-de-camp,  he  started  for  S.  Martino,  which 
was  much  further  off  than  he  thought,  while  I  remained 
to  fulfil  my  duties  as  head  of  the  staff  at  Castelvenzago. 


i6o      AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A    VETERAN 

My  anxiety  that  our  troops  should  be  victorious  increased 
when  news  came  of  the  great  victory  at  Solferino,  and  the 
probable  successes  of  Canrobert  and  Niel;  so  when  see- 
ing how  useless  his  presence  was  in  the  plain,  the  king 
returned,  I  submitted  to  him  a  project  of  attacking  three 
different  points  with  our  four  divisions  at  five  o'clock,  and 
driving  the  Austrians  out  of  the  position  of  S.  Martino  at 
any  sacrifice.  He  approved,  and  orders  were  sent  to  exe- 
cute my  plan.  Our  troops  had  started,  when  suddenly  the 
sky  became  black  as  ink,  and  the  fury  of  the  wind  was 
such  that  men  were  blown  off  their  horses,  while  the  rain 
fell  in  torrents.  The  hurricane  lasted  twenty  minutes, 
during  which  movements  were  impossible.  Only  Fanti, 
with  part  of  his  division,  reached  his  destination.  Durando 
never  arrived,  and  La  Marmora,  with  a  small  following, 
marched  towards  Monzambano,  to  attack  the  left  flank 
of  Benedek. 

The  storm  ceased  at  half-past  five,  and  our  troops 
attacked  with  splendid  dash.  Step  by  step  they  gained 
ground,  and  took  battery  after  battery.  Before  night  the 
enemy  was  driven  out  of  his  position,  and  retreated  in 
complete  disorder.  Towards  nine  we  heard  the  last  cannon 
shots,  and  darkness  forced  us  to  stop  the  pursuit.  This 
victory  cost  us  five  thousand  five  hundred  and  twenty-two 
men — one  thousand  three  hundred  and  fifty  soldiers  and 
fifty  officers  killed,  the  rest  wounded,  and  five  hundred 
prisoners,  but  not  a  single  officer  among  them. 

The  king  bivouacked  for  the  night  at  Castelvenzago, 
and  the  emperor  established  his  headquarters  at  Cavriana, 
in  the  same  house  Francis  Joseph  had  occupied  that 
morning.  The  French  drove  the  Austrians  out  after  the 
great  storm.  I  went  off  to  Lonato,  our  headquarters,  to 
give  orders  for  the  ambulances  and  the  food  supplies  for 
the  next  day,  and  telegraphed  immediately  to  Cavour : — 
*  A  great  battle ;  victorious  all  along  the  line ;  enemy  in 


^        or  THK 

UNIVER.;irY 


VICTORY  OF  S.  MART/NO  i6i 

full  retreat ;  recrossing  the  Mincio.'  I  hoped  the  glorious 
news  would  be  known  at  Turin  next  morning,  but  for  some 
unknown  motive  my  telegram  was  not  published  till  the 
26th,  and  on  the  evening  of  the  25th  the  papers  had  a 
copy  of  the  despatch  sent  by  the  emperor  to  the  empress 
in  Paris.  At  two  in  the  morning  I  returned  to  Castel- 
venzago  to  make  my  report  to  Victor  Emanuel.  Embrac- 
ing me,  he  said  he  had  decided  to  give  me  the  Order  of 
the  Annunziata,  and  invited  me  to  lie  down  by  his  side  on 
the  bare  earth,  where  we  slept  till  daylight.  We  expected 
to  be  attacked  again,  and  all  was  ready  to  repulse  the 
enemy ;  but  we  soon  heard  that  the  Emperor  Francis 
Joseph  was  at  Villafranca,  and  that  his  whole  army  had 
crossed  to  the  left  bank  of  the  Mincio. 

The  king  took  up  his  headquarters  at  Rivoltella,  and 
early  in  the  morning  we  rode  over  the  battlefield  of 
S.  Martino.  Many  unfortunate  wounded  men  still  lay 
where  they  had  fallen  ;  the  houses  and  the  churches  near 
by  were  all  full.  The  3d  division  alone  had  two  thousand 
two  hundred  wounded ;  among  them  was  my  nephew 
Constantine.  A  ball  had  broken  his  jaw,  and  he  could 
not  speak,  but  was  perfectly  conscious.  He  was  so  dis- 
figured that  I  did  not  recognise  him  ;  so,  writing  on  his 
notebook,  '  I  am  your  nephew  Constantine,'  he  handed 
it  to  me,  as  with  the  king  I  passed  close  to  him.  The 
brigade  of  my  brother  Robert  also  suffered  severely. 

The  26th  was  a  Sunday,  and  after  hearing  mass  in  the 
parish  church,  we  rode  to  Desenzano  to  visit  the  hospitals, 
which  were  crowded  with  wounded,  as  well  as  all  the 
houses  of  the  village.  On  the  27th  the  king  returned  to 
S.  Martino,  where  a  large  body  of  troops  were  still  en- 
camped. Count  Fabio  Tracagni,  owner  of  the  land  where 
the  last  tremendous  struggle  had  taken  place,  was  pre- 
sented to  the  king.  Farmhouses  and  villa  were  a  mass 
of  ruins ;   gardens,  meadows,  and  fields  were  devastated. 

L 


i62      AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A    VETERAN 

The  king  expressed  his  sorrow  for  the  damage  done,  but 
Count  Tracagni  did  not  allow  him  to  finish  his  sentence. 
He  declared  that  he  regretted  nothing,  but,  on  the  contrary, 
felt  proud  to  possess  a  property  hallowed  for  ever  by  the 
valour  of  the  Italian  army.  Touched  by  these  words,  the 
king  held  out  his  hand,  which  the  count  tried  to  kiss,  but 
Victor  Emanuel  prevented  this,  and  shook  hands  cordially. 

In  the  afternoon  the  Emperor  sent  General  Froissart 
of  the  engineers,  and  General  Leboeuf  of  the  artillery,  to 
concert  measures  with  Menabrea  and  myself  about  the 
siege  of  Peschiera.  After  the  excursion  of  the  two 
sovereigns  on  the  23d,  and  still  more  after  the  battle 
next  day,  I  was  convinced  that  the  siege  would  not  take 
place,  and  that  negotiations  for  peace  were  being  carried 
on.  I  did  not  even  mention  the  matter  to  the  king. 
He  perhaps  still  cherished  some  hope ;  I  had  none.  But, 
of  course,  I  carried  out  the  orders  sent  to  me,  and  prepared 
everything  for  the  investment  of  Peschiera. 

On  the  27th  and  28th  June  the  troops  destined  for  the 
siege  crossed  the  Mincio  without  being  disturbed  by  the 
enemy.  On  the  29th  I  went  with  the  commanding  officers 
of  the  engineers  and  artillery  to  trace  the  lines  of  cir- 
cumvallation  agreed  upon  with  Froissart,  and  that  same 
evening  our  guns  opened  fire.  The  enemy  answered 
immediately,  and  as  we  were  beyond  the  outposts  there 
were  a  few  skirmishes,  in  one  of  which  two  officers  of 
Grenadiers  were  killed  and  several  soldiers  wounded. 

On  the  1st  July  we  transferred  our  headquarters  to 
a  house  in  Pozzolengo,  which  had  been  inhabited  by 
Charles  Albert  in  1848,  and  by  Benedek  on  the  eve  of 
Solferino.  The  3d  and  5th  divisions  crossed  the  Mincio 
at  Salionze,  together  with  the  ist  French  corps,  to  invest 
Peschiera  from  the  left  bank.  The  headquarters  of 
the  emperor  were  at  Valeggio,  where  the  3d  corps  was 
stationed  with  one  division  at  Goito.     Next  day  we  moved 


AUSTRIANS  SEND  A  FLAG  OF  TRUCE     163 

to  Monzambano,  and  remained  there  till  the  12th  July. 
The  French  army  was  holding  the  positions  we  occupied 
in  1848  ;  but  Napoleon,  whose  one  idea  was  to  concentrate 
his  troops,  thought  the  line  too  extended,  and  on  the 
nights  of  the  3d  and  4th  withdrew  and  formed  a  line 
with  one  wing  on  the  lake  of  Garda,  then  from  Castel- 
novo  along  the  Tirone,  through  Oliosi  and  La  Gherla,  on 
the  road  from  Villafranca,  to  Valeggio,  and  from  Pozzuolo 
and  Goito  extending  to  the  Mincio. 

Meanwhile,  General  Hess,  who  was  at  Verona  with 
the  Emperor  of  Austria,  sent  the  son  of  General  Urban 
with  a  flag  of  truce  and  a  letter  to  Marshal  Vaillant. 
Napoleon  wished  to  speak  to  the  young  officer  himself, 
and  forgetting  the  oldest  and  most  elementary  rule  of 
military  discipline,  the  French  allowed  him  to  traverse 
their  whole  camp  without  being  blindfolded.  When  too 
late  they  perceived  their  error,  and  committed  the 
absurdity  of  blindfolding  him  on  his  return,  when  he  had 
seen  everything.  The  Austrians  behaved  very  differently 
two  days  later.  When  the  king  visited  the  wounded 
Austrian  officers,  who  had  fallen  into  our  hands,  they 
begged  so  earnestly  to  be  allowed  to  return  to  their 
compatriots  that  he  resolved  to  give  them  up  uncon- 
ditionally, and  ordered  me  to  write  to  General  Hess  and 
send  Count  di  Robilant  with  a  flag  of  truce.  He  started 
for  Verona  with  a  small  escort,  which  was  stopped  at  the 
outposts,  and  he  was  blindfolded  and  sent  on  alone  in  a 
closed  carriage. 

General  Hess  knew  Robilant,  and  introduced  him  to 
the  Emperor  Francis  Joseph,  who,  with  true  military 
courtesy,  praised  our  troops,  particularly  the  Bersaglieri 
and  artillery,  and  asked  after  the  king,  to  whom  he  sent 
his  compliments.  On  leaving,  the  count  was  again  blind- 
folded and  driven  back  to  where  his  escort  was  waiting. 

On  the  6th,  Victor  Emanuel  mounted  his  horse  early 


i64      AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A    VETERAN 

and  went  to  meet  his  son-in-law,  Prince  Jerome  Napoleon, 
who  preceded  the  5th  French  corps  and  the  Tuscan 
troops  under  General  Ulloa.  I  was  busy  all  day  carrying 
out  the  emperor's  orders  to  prepare  for  a  defensive  battle, 
in  which  I  did  not  believe.  While  visiting  the  positions 
next  day.  General  Cadogan,  the  English  officer  attached 
to  our  army,  asked  me  where  he  could  get  a  good  view  of 
the  intended  battle.  I  advised  the  top  of  a  hill  over- 
hanging the  river,  and  next  morning  he  went  there  at 
daylight  and  remained  some  hours  without  seeing  any- 
thing. On  returning  to  headquarters  he  was  very  angry 
at  hearing  that  I  had  gone  with  Vaillant  and  Martimprey 
to  Villafranco  to  meet  General  Hess  and  sign  a  truce 
agreed  upon  between  the  sovereigns.  Napoleon  had  sent  his 
aide-de-camp,  General  Fleury,  on  the  evening  of  the  7th, 
to  the  Emperor  of  Austria  with  a  letter  proposing  a 
suspension  of  hostilities,  to  be  followed  by  an  armistice. 
Francis  Joseph  demanded  the  night  for  reflection,  and 
next  morning  delivered  his  acceptance  to  Fleury,  who 
brought  it  to  Valeggio.  Napoleon  then  sent  him  a 
second  letter,  stating  the  conditions  on  which  he  would 
treat  for  peace,  adding,  that  if  the  Emperor  Francis  Joseph 
was  inclined  to  accept  them,  he  wished  for  a  personal 
interview ;  if  not,  he  would  prefer  not  to  meet  him,  as  it 
v/ould  render  the  continuance  of  war  more  painful.  The 
conditions  were  accepted,  and  the  meeting  fixed  for  the 
nth  July  at  Villafranca.  Our  troops  meanwhile  took 
up  the  positions  indicated  in  the  armistice. 

On  the  loth  Count  Cavour  arrived  at  our  headquarters, 
accompanied  by  his  secretary,  Constantine  Negri,  afterwards 
Italian  ambassador  at  Paris,  and  by  Alexander  Bixio,  who 
in  1848  was  the  envoy  extraordinary  of  the  French 
Republic  at  the  Sardinian  Court,  and  a  strong  partisan  of 
the  unity  of  Italy.  He  came  straight  to  me  to  announce 
Cavour's  arrival,  and  warned  me  of  the  state  of  irritation 


SCENE  BETWEEN  THE  KING  AND  CA  VOUR  165 

and  excitement  the  news  of  the  armistice  had  thrown  him 
into.  He  had  forbidden  the  publication  of  the  news  by 
the  Turinese  papers,  but  it  had  been  divulged  by  the 
French  journals,  who  only  mentioned  the  Emperor 
Napoleon,  without  even  alluding  to  the  king.  Cavour  at 
once  went  to  Victor  Emanuel.  The  meeting  was  a  stormy 
one.  The  prime  minister  denounced  everyone  in  bitter 
words  of  reprobation,  and,  irritated  by  the  calmness  with 
which  the  king  listened  and  answered,  at  last  lost  all  self- 
control  and  forgot  the  respect  due  to  royalty.  Victor 
Emanuel  and  Cavour  were  alone,  and  their  conversation 
could  not  have  been  heard  by  anyone,  so  that  all  the 
accounts  published  of  their  interview  are  imaginary. 
Later  in  the  day  the  king  told  me  Cavour  had  been 
absolutely  insolent  and  disrespectful,  and  that,  feeling 
he  could  no  longer  contain  himself,  he  had  turned  his 
back  on  the  prime  minister  and  left  him. 

Cavour  then  came  to  my  tiny  room,  which  contained  a 
camp  bedstead  and  two  chairs,  Bixio  was  sitting  on  one, 
and  immediately  rose  and  went  into  the  passage  outside. 
Just  as  Cavour  was  declaiming  against  the  king  and  every- 
one else,  the  door  opened  and  Prince  Jerome  Napoleon 
entered.  He  took  part  in  the  discussion,  which  was  em- 
bittered by  his  abrupt  roughness.  Cavour  declined  to 
entertain  the  idea  of  a  prolonged  armistice,  or  of  treating 
for  peace,  save  under  the  condition  of  the  liberation  of 
Northern  Italy  —  from  the  Alps  to  the  Adriatic  —  as 
announced  by  Napoleon  HI.  The  prince  replied  that  we 
ought  to  be  only  too  glad  to  get  Lombardy  and  the 
Duchies.  I  remember  he  wound  up  by  exclaiming,  '  Do 
you  expect  us  to  sacrifice  France  and  our  dynasty  for 
you?'  Cavour  doggedly  replied  that  promises  were 
promises,  and  ought  to  be  kept.  He  threatened  to  pro- 
mote and  head  a  revolution  rather  than  leave  the  work 
half  done,  and  complained  bitterly  of  the  emperor,  of  the 


i66      AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A    VETERAN 

king,  of  La  Marmora,  of  me.  I  could  not  blame  him.  For 
years  he  had  worked  to  form  an  independent  kingdom  of 
Italy,  and  now  he  saw  his  labour  stultified,  his  enterprise 
diminished  and  again  reduced  to  anxious  expectation. 
He  could  not  be  expected  to  resign  himself  and  bow  to 
dire  necessity  as  we  had  done,  who,  day  by  day,  had 
watched  all  the  phases  of  the  emperor's  enforced  with- 
drawal. Cavour,  as  a  last  resource,  wished  to  carry  on  the 
war  alone;  but  1848  was  too  fresh  in  our  memories,  and, 
as  military  men,  we  declined  the  responsibility.  It  would 
have  been  folly,  or  worse,  to  pit  fifty  thousand  or  sixty 
thousand  men  against  over  two  hundred  thousand,  who, 
although  beaten,  had  shown  such  discipline  and  courage 
at  Palestro  and  S.  Martino.  Victor  Emanuel  absolutely 
refused  to  stake  the  certain  against  the  uncertain.  The 
annexation  of  Lombardy  and  the  Duchies  doubled  his 
army  and  increased  the  chances  of  ultimately  liberating 
Venice  and  uniting  Tuscany  and  the  Legations,  which 
had  repeatedly  invoked  his  aid,  to  the  kingdom  of 
northern  Italy.  For  my  part,  I  trusted  in  the  great 
political  sagacity  of  Napoleon  III.  The  ability  with 
which  he  had  prepared  the  Franco- Sardinian  alliance, 
and  gained  his  end,  convinced  me  that  necessity,  not 
caprice,  induced  him  to  abandon  us. 

But  Cavour  would  not  listen  to  argument,  and  finding 
the  king,  the  emperor,  and  Prince  Jerome  Napoleon  inex- 
orable, resigned,  and  left  for  Turin  as  soon  as  he  knew 
the  first  conditions  of  peace  had  been  established. 

After  the  meeting  of  the  two  emperors  at  Villafranca, 
some  modifications  were  made  in  the  preliminaries,  and  on 
the  1 2th  they  and  Victor  Emanuel  signed  the  treaty  which 
united  Lombardy,  the  Duchy  of  Parma,  and  Piacenza  to 
Sardinia  and  Piedmont.  On  the  original  document  the 
king  added,  by  the  side  of  his  signature,  ^  faccepte  pour  ce 
qui  me  roncerne,'  thus  accepting  the  increase  of  territory 


ENTR  Y  INTO  MILAN  167 

without  entering  into  the  other  questions  or  prejudicing 
his  future  action. 

The  emperor,  Victor  Emanuel  and  Prince  Jerome 
dined  together  at  Monzambano  on  the  12th,  and  after- 
wards Napoleon  left  for  Desenzano,  where  he  established 
his  headquarters  until  he  went  to  Milan.  Next  day  the 
king  announced  his  departure  to  the  troops  in  an  order  of 
the  day,  and  visited  the  emperor  at  Desenzano,  where  they 
drew  up  the  proclamation  to  the  Lombard  people.  The 
rough  draught  was  dictated  by  the  emperor,  and  after 
Victor  Emanuel  had  altered  and  rewritten  a  sentence,  he 
handed  it  to  me  to  telegraph  to  the  syndic  of  Milan. 
That  afternoon  the  king  left  by  special  train,  received 
with  enthusiasm  all  along  the  line,  and  at  seven  reached 
Milan.  Amid  the  acclamations  of  the  populace  he  drove 
to  the  royal  palace,  where  he  occupied  the  apartment  once 
inhabited  by  the  viceroy  of  Lombardy,  father  of  Queen 
Maria  Adelaide.  Next  day  we  went  to  the  station  to  meet 
the  emperor,  and  the  two  sovereigns  drove  together  in 
the  same  carriage.  There  was  much  cheering  for  Victor 
Emanuel  and  some  for  Napoleon.  On  the  whole,  the 
resentment  against  the  emperor,  who  had  put  a  stop  to  a 
war  begun  under  such  fortunate  auspices,  was  not  too 
openly  displayed. 

Early  on  the  15th  the  king  visited  the  sick  and  wounded 
in  the  hospitals,  and  as  we  were  leaving  the  palace  one  of 
the  French  officers  asked  whether  I  had  not  forgotten  to 
order  the  escort.  He  was  extremely  astonished  when  I 
told  him  that  Victor  Emanuel  always  went  about  alone 
with  his  aide-de-camp.  Later,  when  the  emperor  drove  to 
the  French  hospital,  the  carriage  was  surrounded  by  his 
Guards.  At  two  the  sovereigns  again  traversed  the  city 
together  on  their  way  to  the  station,  and  were  warmly 
cheered.  At  Turin,  on  the  contrary,  their  reception  was 
icy.     Hardly  a  cheer  was  raised  for  the  king — not  one  for 


i68      AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A    VETERAN 

the  emperor.  After  the  State  dinner  Napoleon  withdrew 
to  his  apartments,  and  had  a  long  interview  with  Cavour. 
Early  next  morning  he  left  for  France,  accompanied  by  the 
king  as  far  as  Susa.  He  intended  to  spend  two  days  at 
Turin,  but  the  coldness  of  his  reception  the  evening  before 
probably  hastened  his  departure.  When  we  returned  to 
Turin  the  king  granted  me  a  few  weeks'  leave,  and  I  went 
to  join  my  family  at  Luserna. 


CHAPTER    XV 

END  OF    1859.     BEGINNING  OF    i860 

Marshal  Vaillant — Napoleon  objects  to  the  Annexation  of  Tuscany — Cavour 
returns  to  Power — Persuades  Napoleon  to  agree  to  the  Annexation  of 
Tuscany — I  am  named  Commander  of  the  5th  Army  Corps — Annexation 
of  Tuscany,  Emilia,  and  the  Romagna — Garibaldi  upbraids  Cavour. 

After  spending  some  weeks  with  my  family  at  Luserna 
I  returned  to  Turin  on  the  ist  August,  and  on  the  7th 
accompanied  the  king  to  Milan,  where  he  was  received 
with  demonstrations  of  frantic  enthusiasm.  Marshal 
Vaillant,  in  command  of  the  French  troops,  which  were 
gradually  being  withdrawn  from  Italy,  was  still  living  in 
the  Villa  Reale,  and  I  went  one  morning  to  see  him.  He 
was  just  going  out,  and,  dressed  in  a  light  suit,  looked  quite 
a  young  man,  spite  of  his  seventy  years.  We  strolled 
about  the  park,  and  I  found  he  believed  in  the  possi- 
bility and  the  advantages  of  a  confederation  of  the  Italian 
States  under  the  presidency  of  the  Pope,  as  announced  by 
Napoleon  III.  in  his  last  order  of  the  day  to  the  troops.  I 
had  the  strongest  doubts  as  to  the  working  of  such  a  plan, 
and  I  believe  the  emperor,  whose  suggestion  it  was,  and 
who  earnestly  advocated  it  with  Victor  Emanuel  and 
Cavour,  had  already  realised  its  impossibility.  At  Villa- 
franca  it  had  been  agreed  that  the  deposed  princes 
might  return  to  their  States,  but  were  not  to  call  in  the 
aid  of  foreign  troops.  Now  it  was  most  unlikely  that, 
after   declaring   in    favour    of    annexation    to   an    Italian 

169 


I70      AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A    VETERAN 

kingdom  under  Victor  Emanuel,  and  sending  deputa- 
tions to  beg  his  assistance,  the  people  would  tamely  con- 
sent to  again  receive  the  rulers  they  had  expelled. 

Vaillant,  like  many  Frenchmen,  did  not  believe  in  the 
spontaneity  or  the  unanimity  of  the  revolutionary  move- 
ment in  Italy.  Not  wishing  to  contradict  him,  I  turned 
the  conversation  to  military  matters,  and  soon  after  left 
him  to  continue  his  walk  to  a  mill  near  by,  where  he  went 
every  morning  to  catch  crayfish.  '  There,'  he  said,  '  1  sit 
on  the  bank  of  the  little  stream  and  fish  while  preparing 
my  orders  for  the  morrow.  They  are  not  complicated, 
as  everything  is  well  prepared  and  goes  by  itself.  Then 
I  ponder  over  the  events  of  my  long  life.  The  hours  pass, 
and  I  go  home  to  lunch  with  many  memories  .  .  .  and 
very  few  crayfish.' 

Born  in  1790,  Vaillant  became  an  officer  in  181 1,  and 
was  in  the  Russian  campaign  and  at  Waterloo.  Set  aside 
by  the  government  of  the  Restoration,  he  was  again  em- 
ployed after  1830  and  sent  to  Algiers.  When  the  empire 
was  re-established  after  the  coup  d'etat  he  became  a  Mar- 
shal of  France,  and  was  several  times  minister  of  war ; 
in  1859  he  held  the  post  of  general  chief  of  the  staff  to 
the  French  army.  Although  not  of  high  birth,  he  was  a 
perfect  gentleman,  and  shone  among  the  other  marshals 
and  generals  by  his  courteous  and  charming  manners. 
In  1870  I  heard  that  being  too  old  for  active  service,  he 
was  on  the  ramparts  of  Paris  in  plain  clothes  and  was 
mistaken  for  a  spy  by  the  Communists,  who  arrested  and 
imprisoned  him.  He  was  exiled,  and  returned  in  1871 
to  Paris  to  die  the  following  year. 

The  king,  after  visiting  other  cities  in  Lombardy — 
Brescia,  Bergamo,  etc. — greeted  everywhere  with  great 
enthusiasm,  returned  to  Turin  on  the  17th  August. 
During  the  autumn  he  received  deputations  and  dele- 
gates from  cities  in  the  Emilia,  in  the  Romagna,  and   in 


POWERS  OBJECT  TO  A  STRONG  ITALY    171 

Tuscany,  all  wanting  to  be  annexed  to  the  Constitutional 
monarchy  of  the  Re  Galantuomo  (Honest  King). 

D'Azeglio,  Boncompagni,  Farini,  Ricasoli,  and  many 
others  had  been  ably  working  to  this  end  with  untiring 
patriotism  ;  and  the  people  now  came  to  solicit  annexation 
to  the  kingdom  of  Victor  Emanuel  and  the  aid  of  his  army 
against  those  who  opposed  the  desires  and  will  of  the 
nation.  During  the  war  the  king  had  refused  to  accept 
any  proposals  of  allegiance,  but  now,  with  certain  official 
restrictions  imposed  by  foreign  politics  (explained  away 
afterwards  in  private  audiences),  he  promised  that  the 
popular  desire  should  be  gratified  ere  long,  and  the  dele- 
gates left  Turin  trusting  in  the  prompt  realisation  of  his 
royal  word.  This  was  somewhat  delayed  by  the  hesita- 
tion of  the  Rattazzi-La  Marmora-Dabormida  ministry, 
who  came  to  power  after  the  resignation  of  Cavour  at 
Villafranca.  What  with  the  serious  discontent  of  Austria, 
who  threatened  to  break  off  the  negotiations  at  Zurich  for 
peace  if  the  Convention  of  Villafranca  was  not  rigorously 
observed  by  the  King  of  Sardinia  ;  and  the  hostility  of 
France  to  the  creation  of  a  stronger  Italy,  our  poor 
ministers  sometimes  lost  their  heads,  and  by  their 
vacillation  threatened  to  compromise  and  destroy  the 
brilliant  hopes  of  the  future. 

Whilst  declaring  that  the  Convention  of  Villafranca 
must  be  respected.  Napoleon  allowed  it  to  be  understood 
that  if  Savoy,  the  cession  of  which,  together  with  Nice, 
had  been  arranged  at  Plombieres  (but  not  carried  out  at 
the  close  of  the  war  because  he  had  not  fulfilled  the  con- 
ditions of  the  contract),  was  handed  over  to  him,  no 
objection  would  be  raised  to  the  annexation  of  Emilia 
and  the  Romagna.  He  absolutely  objected  to  the  annex- 
ation of  Tuscany,  of  which  he  proposed  to  make  a  king- 
dom of  Etruria  under  some  prince  who  had  nothing  to 
do  with  Austria.     The  popular  report  was  that  the  em- 


172      AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A    VETERAN 

peror  wished  to  reserve  the  throne  for  his  cousin  Jerome, 
husband  of  our  Princess  Clotilde ;  but  the  real  reason  was 
his  conviction  that  the  annexation  of  Tuscany  would 
hasten  the  formation  of  a  united  Italy,  distasteful  to  all 
the  great  powers,  with  the  exception  of  England.  He 
also  knew  that  they  considered  him  in  a  great  measure 
responsible  for  the  Italian  movement,  and  he  was  unable 
and  unwilling  to  compromise  himself  further  for  us. 

In  the  Liberal  party,  especially  among  the  lately  an- 
nexed Lombard  subjects,  the  unpopularity  of  the  ministers 
increased  daily;  while  the  king,  by  nature  prompt  and 
resolute,  was  in  perpetual  disaccord  with  one  or  the  other. 
He  said  nothing,  but  in  his  heart  of  hearts  regretted  Cavour. 
Taking  advantage  of  one  of  the  frequent  disagreements 
with  La  Marmora,  which  generally  ended  by  his  tendering 
his  resignation — hitherto  refused — the  king  took  him  at  his 
word,  dissolved  the  ministry  and  sent  for  Cavour.  This 
was  towards  the  middle  of  January  i860,  when  Victor 
Emanuel  was  ill  in  bed.  I  left  the  king's  room  when 
Camillo  entered,  and  waited  in  the  study,  as  His  Majesty  had 
orders  to  give  me.  Half  an  hour  afterwards  Cavour  came 
out  of  the  room  with  a  smiling  face  and  rubbing  his  hands, 
a  sure  sign  that  he  was  pleased.  '  Well,'  he  said,  looking 
straight  at  me  over  his  spectacles,  'the  reconciliation  is 
complete.'  'Really?'  I  answered.  'Don't  pretend  to  be 
a  simpleton,'  replied  he;  'you  knew  it.  And  now,'  he 
added  in  rather  a  sarcastic  tone,  '  many  things  will  be 
accomplished.'  Of  that  I  had  no  doubt;  but  I  never 
imagined,  and  I  do  not  think  Cavour  himself  thought,  that 
before  the  end  of  the  year  we  should  be  masters  of  the 
whole  boot,  with  the  exception  of  Venice  and  Rome.  The 
alliance  with  Garibaldi,  v/hich  brought  about  the  union 
of  the  south  with  the  north,  only  occurred  some  months 
later.  At  that  moment  he  was  in  bad  odour  with  the 
government.     It  is  true  they  had  put  him  in  command  of 


CAVOUR  RETURNS  TO  POWER  173 

the  Tuscan  contingent,  but  Fanti,  commander-in-chief  of 
the  army  of  the  central  provinces,  was  ordered  to  keep 
watch  on  him,  and  had  found  means  to  remove  him.  The 
first  act  of  Cavour,  on  his  return  to  power,  was  to  name 
Farini  Minister  of  the  Interior,  and  Fanti  Minister  of  War. 
The  latter  had  shown  great  ability  in  organising  the  army 
of  the  central  provinces,  raised  by  him  in  a  few  months  to 
forty-five  thousand  well-disciplined  men.  They  had  now 
to  be  incorporated  and  amalgamated  with  the  Sardinian 
army  and  the  Lombard  troops,  and  he  did  the  work  well. 
Meanwhile,  Cavour  dissolved  the  Chambers,  fixed  the 
elections  for  the  end  of  March,  and  the  opening  of  the  new 
Parliament  for  the  beginning  of  April.  His  chief  object 
was  to  repristinate  the  good  relations  existing  before 
Villafranca  between  Victor  Emanuel  and  Napoleon. 
Cavour  understood  what  services  the  emperor  might  yet 
render  Italy,  and  wished  to  secure  him,  not  only  as  an 
ally,  but,  if  I  may  use  the  word,  an  accomplice,  having  a 
direct  and  positive  interest  in  the  realisation  of  Italian 
aspirations.  Aware  of  Napoleon's  desire  to  possess  Savoy 
and  Nice,  he  therefore  immediately  reopened  the  question 
of  their  cession.  Fond  of  Italy,  and  admiring  and  trusting 
Cavour,  whom  he  regarded  as  the  good  genius  of  his 
mother-country,  Napoleon  III.  promised  his  assistance. 
Meanwhile,  Cavour  and  Fanti  worked  together  to  change 
the  whole  organisation  of  the  army  and  facilitate  its 
mobilisation.  They  divided  it  into  five  great  corps  d'armSe^ 
each  forming  a  small  army,  with  its  head  of  the  staff, 
artillery,  heavy  and  light  cavalry,  Bersaglieri,  commissariat, 
ambulances,  etc.,  etc.,  complete  in  number,  easy  to  call 
together  and  put  on  a  war  footing  in  a  few  days.  For 
more  than  two  months  no  one  was  aware  of  what  was 
going  on  ;  I  only  knew  it  when  the  king  offered  me  the 
command  of  the  ist  or  the  3d  corps,  which  I  refused,  as 
I  wished  to  retain  my  post  at  his  side.     De  Sonnaz  was 


174      AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A    VETERAN 

named  to  the  ist,  La  Marmora  to  the  2d  (the  Lombard), 
extending  from  the  Ticino  to  the  Mincio,  and  from  the 
Po  to  the  lake  of  Garda.  The  3d,  under  Durando,  was 
destined  to  defend  the  line  of  the  Po  from  Ferrara  to 
Casalmaggiore. 

All  this  occurred  in  March,  and  Cavour  had  meanwhile 
induced  the  emperor  (by  the  promise  of  Nice  and  Savoy) 
to  agree  to  the  annexations,  including  that  of  Tuscany. 
The  king  wished  to  pay  a  visit  to  the  Empress  of  Russia, 
widow  of  Nicholas  I.,  who  was  about  to  leave  Nice,  where 
she  had  passed  the  winter.  But  his  presence  there  at  such 
a  moment  was  considered  inopportune,  and  he  decided  to 
send  me  to  compliment  the  Czarina  in  his  name,  and 
explain  why  he  had  not  come  in  person.  Victor  Emanuel 
had  said  nothing  more  to  me  about  the  commands  of  the 
five  army  corps,  but  a  few  days  after  I  reached  Nice,  my 
brother  Frederick,  then  aide-de-camp  to  the  king,  wrote,  by 
his  orders,  to  advise  me  not  to  persist  in  my  refusal.  The 
commanders  of  three  divisions  had  already  been  appointed ; 
the  ministers  had  asked  for  one  for  Cialdini,  and  the  king 
had  reserved  the  last  (the  Tuscan)  for  me.  An  immediate 
answer  was  necessary,  as  the  Parliament  opened  early  in 
April,  and  there  was  every  prospect  of  another  campaign. 
I  should  have  liked  to  have  spoken  to  His  Majesty,  and  to 
have  consulted  my  family,  but  it  was  impossible  for  me  to 
leave  Nice,  as  the  Czarina  had  asked  me  to  dinner  on  pur- 
pose to  meet  one  of  her  sons,  who  was  to  arrive  next  day. 
Russia  was  one  of  the  great  powers  who  disapproved  of  the 
formation  of  a  northern  Italian  kingdom,  and  I  could  not 
let  slip  an  opportunity  of  conversing  familiarly  with  the 
Grand  Duke,  and  attempting  to  persuade  him  that  Victor 
Emanuel  was  not  influenced  by  personal  ambition,  and 
that  his  ministers  (Cavour  and  Rattazzi)  were  not  revolu- 
tionary Jacobins,  making  use  of  the  democracy  for  their 
own  ends.     So  I  sent  my  servant  back  to  Turin  with  letters 


GARIBALDI  UPBRAIDS  CA  VOUR        175 

for  His  Majesty,  for  my  wife,  and  my  brother,  frankly 
stating  my  own  wishes,  but  telling  the  two  latter  to  decide 
as  they  thought  best  for  my  interests,  and,  above  all,  to 
conform  to  the  wishes  of  the  king.  When  I  returned  home 
everything  had  been  settled  ;  I  was  gazetted  commander 
of  the  5th  corps  darm^e  (the  Tuscan),  resident  for  the 
present  at  Turin.  Victor  Emanuel  meanwhile  told  me 
that  I  was  to  retain  the  position  and  the  functions  of  his 
first  aide-de-camp. 

The  king,  in  his  speech  at  the  opening  of  Parliament 
on  the  2nd  April,  announced  the  treaty  for  the  cession  of 
Nice  and  Savoy.  In  the  stormy  debates  which  followed, 
Cavour  made  two  or  three  admirable  speeches,  and  bore 
down  all  opposition.  The  cession  of  the  two  provinces 
was  voted,  and  the  annexation  of  Tuscany,  Emilia  and  the 
Romagna  to  the  kingdom  of  Victor  Emanuel,  who  lost  two 
or  three  millions  of  subjects  and  gained  seven  or  eight. 
Garibaldi,  deputy  for  Nice,  made  his  first  appearance  in 
the  House,  and  furiously  upbraided  Cavour,  who  certainly 
did  not  merit  such  treatment.  It  was  reported  that 
Garibaldi  never  forgot  or  forgave  the  cession  of  his  birth- 
place, and  that  his  bitter  words  always  rankled  in  the 
mind  of  Cavour. 


CHAPTER  XVI 
i860 

The  King  visits  New  Provinces — Sends  me  to  Compliment  the  ex-Duchess 
of  Lucca  at  Viareggio — Embarkation  of  the  *  Thousand '  for  Sicily — Our 
March  into  Umbria — Cardinal  Antonelli  and  Cavour — Siege  and  Capitu- 
lation of  Perugia — Execution  of  Priest — Siege  of  Ancona — Arrival  of 
Victor  Emanuel  at  Ancona. 

After  the  vote  in  the  Chambers  the  king,  who  had  already 
received  all  the  deputations  bringing  the  results  of  the 
various  plebiscites,  went  to  visit  the  new  provinces.  His 
entry  into  Florence  on  horseback,  surrounded  by  a  brilliant 
staff,  was  a  triumphal  progress,  and  in  all  the  cities  of  Tus- 
cany, in  Parma,  in  Piacenza,  in  the  Romagna,  in  Bologna, 
etc.,  the  enthusiasm  was  extraordinary.  Either  at  Prato 
or  Pistoia,  I  forget  which,  lunch  had  been  prepared,  to 
which  I  felt  disposed  to  do  full  justice,  when  the  king 
called  me  aside  and  ordered  me  to  take  post-horses  and 
go  to  Viareggio  to  compliment  his  cousin,  Maria  Theresa, 
ex-Duchess  of  Lucca. 

Maria  Theresa  of  Savoy,  one  of  the  four  daughters  of 
Victor  Emanuel  I.  and  Maria  Theresa  of  Este,  married 
Charles  of  Bourbon,  a  wretched  madman,  who  made  her  life 
miserable.  He  abdicated  in  favour  of  his  son,  who  was  as 
bad,  or  worse,  than  his  father,  and  died  by  the  hand  of  an 
assassin.  His  son  Robert  succeeded  him  under  the  tute- 
lage of  his  mother,  the  Duchess  of  Berry.     The  ex-duke 

176 


EX-DUCHESS  OF  LUCCA  AT  VIAREGGIO    177 

went  to  Paris,  where  he  led  a  dissolute  life,  and  Maria 
Theresa  had  retired  to  a  villa  near  Viareggio,  entirely 
buried  in  the  pine  woods.  With  some  difficulty  I  per- 
suaded the  porter  to  let  my  carriage  drive  up  to  the  door, 
and  the  duchess  was  summoned  from  the  chapel,  where  she 
passed  the  day  praying  for  the  repose  of  the  soul  of  her 
son.  She  had  no  ladies  or  gentlemen-in-waiting  ;  her  sole 
companion  was  her  chaplain  and  confessor ;  her  only  visitor 
a  Florentine  nobleman,  who  administered  her  property. 
When  I  mentioned  Victor  Emanuel  she  had  difficulty  in 
understanding  who  I  meant ;  and  when  I  said  I  had  come 
from  Florence,  she  asked  after  the  grand  duke.  I  told 
her  he  had  been  at  Vienna  for  more  than  a  year,  and  as 
she  made  no  sign  for  me  to  leave,  I  explained  as  well  as 
I  could  that,  by  a  plebiscite,  Tuscany  had  united  herself  to 
Piedmont,  where  her  own  family,  the  House  of  Savoy,  still 
continued  to  reign.  I  saw  that  the  word  plebiscite  was 
utterly  unknown  to  her,  and  that  she  did  not  understand 
what  I  was  talking  about.  She  looked  at  me  with  astonish- 
ment, and  then  half  closed  her  eyes,  and  clasped  her  hands 
as  though  in  prayer.  At  last  she  rose  and  told  me  to 
thank  her  cousin,  but  she  did  not  give  me  her  hand  to  kiss. 
The  demonstrations  of  joy  which  greeted  Victor 
Emanuel  in  his  new  dominions  found  an  echo  in  the 
south  of  Italy,  and  aroused  the  patriotic  aspirations  which 
had  been  crushed  in  Naples  and  Sicily  by  the  implacable 
despotism  of  Ferdinand  II.  On  his  death,  in  the  spring 
of  1859,  the  Liberal  party  took  fresh  heart,  as  the  mother 
of  his  eldest  son  and  heir  Francis  was  Maria  Christina  of 
Savoy,  another  of  the  four  daughters  of  Victor  Emanuel  I. 
On  the  strength  of  this.  Count  Cavour  attempted  to  make 
a  treaty  of  alliance  between  Piedmont  and  the  young 
sovereign.  He  sent  Count  Ruggero  di  Salmour  as  am- 
bassador extraordinary  to  explain  to  Francis  II.  that  he 
might  free  Italy  from  serious  complications,  and  probably 

M 


(^1-  CAL.FOSH\^ 


178      AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A    VETERAN 

save  his  own  throne,  by  allying  himself  with  us.  But 
Franceschiello,  as  he  was  called  in  Naples,  refused  to 
listen,  and  swore  he  would  adhere  to  his  father's  form  of 
government  and  policy.  A  few  months  later,  when  the 
revolution  broke  out,  he  sent  one  ambassador  after  another 
— first  to  Cavour  and  then  to  Victor  Emanuel — to  express 
his  willingness  to  enter  into  a  treaty  of  alliance,  and  even 
to  grant  a  Constitution.  But  it  was  too  late.  King  and 
minister  were  morally  bound  to  Garibaldi. 

At  Palermo  a  large  body  of  Bourbon  troops  had 
quashed  the  revolution,  the  leaders  of  which  were,  oddly 
enough,  saved  and  harboured  by  the  monks  of  a  large 
convent.  But  the  impulse  was  given,  and  the  whole  south 
of  Italy  only  wanted  a  vigorous  leader  to  rise  and  declare 
for  union  under  Victor  Emanuel.  Garibaldi  had  promised 
two  of  his  friends — Nino  Bixio,  a  Genoese,  and  Francesco 
Crispi,^  a  Sicilian,  ardent  partisans  of  the  unity  of  Italy — 
that  when  a  favourable  occasion  came  he  would  put  him- 
self at  the  head  of  an  expedition  to  liberate  the  southern 
provinces.  But  after  the  vote  in  April  for  the  cession  of 
Nice  and  Savoy,  Garibaldi  drew  back.  The  two  patriots, 
however,  at  last  persuaded  him  to  reconsider  his  decision  ; 
although  the  official  aid  of  the  government  was  refused, 
he  had  reason  to  hope  for  their  indirect  assistance,  and 
determined  to  act.  The  immediate  result  was  the  em- 
barkation at  Quarto 2  of  the  'Thousand,'  on  two  boats 
seized  by  Bixio.  The  incidents  of  that  adventurous 
expedition  are  well  known.     They  necessitated  our  march 

^  Crispi,  a  Mazzinian  Republican,  had,  it  was  said,  accepted  the  idea  of 
unity  under  Victor  Emanuel,  by  the  advice  of  Mazzini  himself.  Whilst  keep- 
ing to  his  own  opinions,  Mazzini's  passionate  love  and  desire  for  unity  induced 
him  to  permit  his  followers  to  abandon  the  form  of  government  he  preferred, 
rather  than  risk  the  formation  of  a  united  Italy. 

2  The  splendid  villa  of  Quarto,  whence  the  Garibaldians  started,  once 
belonged  to  the  Spinola  family.  Now  it  is  the  property  of  Signor  Carrara,  a 
Garibaldian. 


EMBARKATION  OF  THE  '  THOUSAND'     179 

across  Umbria  and  the  Marches,  as  triumphant,  in  its  way, 
as  that  of  Garibaldi. 

In  the  beginning  of  August  the  minister  of  war  sent 
all  the  troops  stationed  in  Piedmont  to  the  Camps  of  In- 
struction on  the  Vauda  of  S.  Maurice  (Canavese),  placing 
them  under  my  command  during  the  manoeuvres,  which 
were  to  take  place  from  the  ist  September  to  the  15th 
October.  I  took  a  villa  near  by,  intending  to  receive 
all  the  superior  officers,  and  the  king  announced  his 
intention  of  assisting  at  the  first  sham  fights.  All  was 
ready,  when  I  received  orders  from  the  War  Office  to  con- 
centrate my  corps  (the  5th)  and  start  immediately  for 
the  Umbrian  frontier,  and  with  the  4th  corps  defend,  so 
said  the  order,  our  frontiers  menaced  by  the  foreign 
legions  of  the  Pope.  At  the  same  time  (31st  August) 
Fanti  wrote  me  a  private  letter,  containing  these  words : 
'  Spread  the  report  that  we  are  concentrating  our  troops 
to  quell  the  revolution,  and,  if  necessary,  to  march  on 
Naples.' 

I  cannot  say  this  order  surprised  me.  The  rapid 
spread  of  the  revolution  in  the  kingdom  of  Naples,  where 
the  people  greeted  Garibaldi  with  enthusiasm,  and  the 
garrisons  laid  down  their  arms  and  joined  his  army,  had 
been  known  for  some  days.  Poor  King  Francis,  betrayed 
by  his  relations,  by  his  ministers,  and  by  those  he  esteemed 
his  most  faithful  servants,  was  about  to  leave  Naples  and 
take  refuge  in  Gaeta  with  the  remnant  of  his  army,  about 
fifty  thousand  men. 

Seeing  the  kingdom  of  Naples  a  prey  to  a  double 
revolution,  fanned  by  Mazzini  on  one  hand  and  Garibaldi 
on  the  other,  Cavour  decided  on  throwing  off  the  mask 
and  openly  assisting  the  latter.  The  time  was  propitious, 
but  it  was  a  perilous  and  decisive  step  to  take. 

The  king  and  Cavour  took  advantage  of  the  presence 
of  Napoleon  III.  in  his  new  province  of  Savoy  to  send 


i8o      AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A    VETERAN 

Farini  and  Cialdini,  under  pretext  of  complimenting  him, 
to  represent  the  terrible  condition  of  Umbria  and  the 
Marches,  exposed  to  the  incessant  depredations  of  the 
mercenary  Papal  troops.  They  were  to  obtain  a  promise 
from  the  emperor  that  the  French  garrison  in  Rome 
should  not  be  permitted  to  assist  Lamoriciere,  and  also 
to  make  sure  that  IJis  Imperial  Majesty  would  raise  no 
obstacle  to  the  entry  of  our  troops  into  Umbria,  or  to  the 
plebiscite  of  the  people,  who  had  asked  to  be  annexed  to 
the  kingdom  of  Victor  Emanuel. 

Napoleon,  always  favourable  to  the  Italian  cause,  and 
at  that  moment  under  the  impression  of  the  brilliant 
reception  accorded  him  in  the  provinces  just  ceded  to 
France,  promised  to  recognise  the  action  of  our  govern- 
ment, provided  the  work  was  done  quickly ;  it  was 
necessary  that  Europe  should  only  know  it  as  an  accom- 
plished fact.  The  injunctions  verbally  made  to  our 
envoys  were  repeated  in  an  autograph  letter  from  the 
emperor  to  Victor  Emanuel,  which  I  saw: — ' Allez,  allze, 
et  surtout  faites  vite.'  We  went  and  we  made  quick  work 
of  it. 

I  had  orders  from  Fanti,  Minister  of  War,  and  com- 
mander-in-chief of  the  expedition,  to  have  my  troops  on 
the  frontier  by  the  loth  September.  He  gave  me  full 
powers,  and  placed  the  railway  at  my  command.  Thanks 
to  this,  but  still  more  to  the  excellent  organisation  intro- 
duced by  Fanti  himself,  I  was  there  before  the  date 
named.  The  mobilisation  of  my  corps  only  took  three 
days,  and  within  a  week  thirty  thousand  men  were  on 
the  frontier. 

I  must  confess  that  I  was  hurt  and  angry  when  Fanti, 
my  junior,  whose  grades  had  been  gained  in  foreign  ser- 
vice, was  named  commander-in-chief  of  the  expedition. 
I  thought  he  might  have  joined  the  army,  as  minister  of 
war,  and  left  me  the  honour  of  directing  the  expedition. 


OUR  MARCH  INTO  UMBRIA  i8i 

But  I  soon  recognised  his  superiority  and  his  great 
military  intuition ;  and  during  the  whole  campaign  I  took 
counsel  with  him  on  all  essential  matters. 

The  2d  and  3d  corps,  under  La  Marmora  and  Durando, 
were  entrusted  with  the  defence  of  the  kingdom,  in  case 
the  Austrians  attempted  to  take  advantage  of  our  south- 
ward march  and  attack  us  on  the  rear> 

On  the  3d  September  I  left  Turin  with  my  staff,  and 
embarked  at  Genoa  for  Leghorn,  where  we  arrived  during 
the  night  of  the  4th.  Next  evening  we  were  at  Florence, 
and  on  the  6th  I  left  for  Arezzo  to  reconnoitre  the  country 
while  waiting  for  my  troops,  who,  on  account  of  the 
defective  railway  service,  could  only  arrive  on  the  8th. 
Next  day  my  corps — about  eleven  thousand  men,  the  rest 
having  been  left  to  garrison  Turin  and  Florence — was 
concentrated  on  the  frontier,  near  Arezzo,  where  Fanti 
established  his  headquarters. 

Cialdini,  in  command  of  the  4th  army  corps,  had 
received  orders  to  concentrate  his  troops  at  Cattolica, 
between  Pesaro  and  Rimini.  He  had  two  strong  divisions, 
numbering  about  fourteen  thousand  men,  and  could  also 
summon  Cadorna  to  his  aid,  whose  division  was  destined 
to  reinforce  whichever  corps  needed  strengthening.  Alto- 
gether we  had  about  thirty-two  thousand  to  thirty-three 
thousand  men  in  five  divisions.  My  numerical  inferiority 
to  Cialdini  was  blamed  by  some,  as  the  5th  corps  was 
likely  to  be  the  first  to  meet  the  enemy,  and  ought,  people 
said,  to  be  the  strongest.  But  it  was  just  in  these  disposi- 
tions that  Fanti  showed  his  intuition  and  military  genius. 
He  so  completely  deceived  Lamoriciere  as  to  our  real 
intentions,  that  he  abandoned  his  sole  line  of  retreat  in 
Umbria  and  concentrated  his  troops  around  Ancona, 
threatened  by  the  4th  corps,  leaving  the  road  open  for 
our  rapid  advance.  Fanti  also  estimated  that  eleven 
thousand  picked  troops,  such  as  I  had,  were  more  than 


1 82      AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A    VETERAN 

sufficient    to    engage   any   number   of    mercenaries,  even 
without  the  aid  of  Cadorna's  division. 

The  strategic  plan  for  the  5  th  corps  was  to  avoid  the 
narrow  pass  of  Lake  Thrasimene,  march  by  Citta  di 
Castello  and  Fratto  on  Perugia,  and  seize  the  fortress 
which  commands  the  city.  Once  masters  of  Perugia,  we 
were  to  proceed  to  Foligno,  the  centre  of  communication 
of  the  Papal  States,  and  effect  a  junction  with  the  4th 
corps.  From  Foligno  we  could  operate  on  Spoleto  or 
Ancona,  according  to  the  movements  of  the  enemy. 

On  the  9th,  Fanti  sent  a  letter  to  Lamoriciere  by 
Lieutenant  Farini,^  informing  him  that  he  had  orders  to 
cross  the  frontier,  if  the  manifestations  in  the  cities  of 
Umbria  and  the  Marches  in  favour  of  annexation  to  the 
monarchy  of  Victor  Emanuel  were  interfered  with. 

Three  days  before,  Cavour  had  written  to  Cardinal 
Antonelli,  to  announce  that  the  people  of  the  Marches 
and  of  Umbria  had  appealed  to  the  King  of  Sardinia  to 
defend  them  against  the  aggressions  of  the  mercenary 
troops,  who,  in  the  name  of  the  Pontifical  government, 
threatened  their  lives  and  their  honour. 

The  reply  given  by  Cardinal  Antonelli  may  be  im- 
agined. The  Pontifical  troops  were  not  withdrawn,  but 
were  ordered  to  resist  the  invaders  to  the  utmost.  La- 
moriciere looked  on  Fanti's  letter  as  a  declaration  of  war, 
and  replied  that  he  was  ready  to  defend  himself. 

We  crossed  the  frontier  on  the  loth.  On  the  nth  I 
encamped  near  Monterchi,  sending  on  the  brigade  of  the 
Sardinian  Grenadiers  to  Citta  di  Castello,  which  they 
entered  at  one  o'clock,  after  a  slight  resistance  at  the 
city  gates  and  the  governor's  palace  by  seventy-six 
gendarmes,  who  were  taken  prisoners.  The  rest  of  the 
troops  entered  the  town  next  day  amid  the  rejoicing  of 
the  inhabitants,  who  distributed  refreshments  among  them 
^  Now  President  of  the  Senate. 


SIEGE  OF  PERUGIA  183 

from  a  cafi  on  the  piazza,  whose  name  had  been  changed 
during  the  night  to  Caf^  General  Delia  Rocca.  In  a  few 
hours  we  organised  a  grand  ball  in  the  municipal  palace 
for  the  officers  and  gentry,  and  another  on  the  piazza,  in 
which  the  soldiers  had  permission  to  join. 

While  part  of  the  troops  were  dancing  and  amusing 
themselves,  the  Sardinian  Grenadiers,  the  Bersaglieri,  the 
artillery,  and  a  squadron  of  cavalry  advanced  towards  La 
Fratta,  while  the  engineers  and  pioneers  threw  a  bridge 
across  the  Tiber,  near  S.  Maddalena.  On  the  13th  the 
headquarters  were  at  Pierantonio,  whence  I  sent  on 
General  Maurice  de  Sonnaz  with  a  column  of  the  Sardinian 
Grenadiers,  a  squadron  of  the  Nice  cavalry,  Bersaglieri  and 
artillery  to  Bosco,  in  preparation  for  the  morrow's  attack  on 
the  fortress  of  Perugia.  It  was  only  defended  by  a  few  hun- 
dred Papal  troops.  General  Schmidt  being  out  reconnoitring 
with  fifteen  hundred  men.  Schmidt  was  the  man  who  had 
been  charged  to  quell  the  rising  in  Perugia  during  our 
campaign  in  June  1859,  when  the  city  first  declared  for 
annexation  to  the  Constitutional  kingdom  of  Victor 
Emanuel.  He  permitted  his  troops  to  commit  every  kind 
of  atrocity,  and  was  execrated  by  the  inhabitants.  His 
men  were  too  tired  to  reach  Perugia  before  us,  but  during 
the  assault  he  managed  to  enter  the  fortress  unseen. 

De  Sonnaz  had  my  orders  to  attack  the  city  from 
above,  and  struck  his  camp  early  in  the  morning  of  the 
14th.  He  advanced  to  reconnoitre  and  pick  up  what  in- 
formation he  could  from  the  inhabitants,  as  we  possessed 
no  topographical  maps  of  any  sort.  On  reaching  the  walls 
he  decided  to  divide  his  troops  into  two  divisions  ;  one  was 
to  enter  the  city  by  the  gate  of  S.  Antonio,  the  other  by 
the  gate  of  S.  Margherita,  and,  protected  from  the  fire  of 
the  fortress  by  the  cathedral,  attack  the  front  and  the 
exterior  door  of  the  citadel.  Both  city  gates  were  closed 
and  barred,  but  the  former  had  been  left  unguarded,  so  the 


i84      AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A    VETERAN 

Perugians  were  able  to  open  it  and  let  in  the  first  column. 
Major  Pallavacini,  with  his  battalion  of  Bersaglieri,  rushed 
into  the  town,  followed  by  three  battalions  of  Grenadiers, 
a  squadron  of  cavalry  and  a  battery  of  artillery.  They 
were  received  by  a  sharp  musketry  fire  from  the  fortress. 
Major-General  Camerana  lost  a  good  many  men  while 
crossing  the  piazza  to  take  up  a  position  on  the  opposite 
side.  Detachments  of  the  enemy  in  the  streets  leading  to 
the  fortress  were  put  to  flight  by  our  soldiers,  who  were 
fired  upon  from  the  windows  of  houses  occupied  by 
Schmidt's  men.  Aided  by  the  inhabitants,  we  hunted 
them  out,  and  making  barricades  of  furniture  and  mat- 
tresses, which  were  offered  without  stint,  at  last  became 
masters  of  all  the  surroundings  of  the  citadel. 

In  one  street  a  shot  from  a  window  mortally  wounded 
the  handsome  drum-major  of  the  Grenadiers.  Eyewitnesses 
swore  that  the  shot  came  from  the  room  of  the  parish  priest, 
and  was  fired  by  him.  A  court-martial  was  immediately 
held,  and  sentence  of  death  pronounced.  The  execution 
was,  however,  deferred  to  the  next  day,  it  being  contrary 
to  the  rules  of  war  to  carry  out  a  sentence  during  a  siege. 

While  the  first  column  entered  the  gate  of  S.  Antonio 
without  difficulty,  the  second  had  to  wait,  under  a  heavy 
fire  from  the  walls,  at  the  gate  of  S.  Margherita  until  the 
engineers  and  sappers  came  up  to  burst  it  open.  They 
then  rushed  in,  made  some  sixty  prisoners  in  the 
barracks  close  by,  and  crossed  the  city  in  the  direction 
of  the  gate  of  S.  Pietro.  Part  of  the  troops  were  stationed 
in  the  public  gardens  opposite  the  citadel ;  the  others 
guarded  the  road  to  FoUgno  to  prevent  any  attempt  at 
flight.  I  left  Pierantonio  in  the  morning  for  Bosco  with 
the  rest  of  my  troops,  and,  marching  round  the  hill  of 
Perugia,  debouched  on  the  FoHgno  road  at  the  bridge  of 
S.  Giovanni.  Towards  mid-day  De  Sonnaz  sent  to  inform 
me  that  Schmidt,  with  fifteen  hundred  men,  reported  to  be 


CAPITULATION  OF  PERUGIA  185 

well  provided  with  artillery,  had  got  into  the  fortress,  and 
to  ask  for  reinforcements.  Fanti  joined  us  at  that  moment, 
and  approved  of  my  resolve  to  start  at  once  with  the  Lom- 
bard Grenadiers,  under  General  Brignone,  to  the  aid  of  De 
Sonnaz,  and  to  send  Colonel  Ceresole  with  two  squadrons 
down  into  the  plain  to  cut  off  a  possible  retreat  of  the 
enemy  towards  Rome.  Finding  the  gate  of  S.  Pietro  un- 
defended, we  entered,  ranged  the  troops  in  front  of  the 
church  and  convent  of  S.  Pietro,  and  placed  a  battery  of 
eight  guns  in  readiness  to  bombard  the  citadel.  All  was 
quiet  in  the  city,  which  made  me  think  a  parley  was  going 
on.  I  sent  the  head  of  my  staff  to  see,  and  he  returned 
with  news  that  Schmidt,  having  found  out  that  he  had  to 
do  with  regular  troops,  and  not,  as  he  supposed,  with  volun- 
teers, had  asked  for  a  suspension  of  arms  with  a  view  to 
capitulate.  De  Sonnaz  had  agreed,  and  for  two  hours  had 
been  discussing  with  two  colonels  sent  by  Schmidt,  who  re- 
fused to  accept  the  conditions  drawn  up  previously  by  Fanti. 
In  order  to  accelerate  matters  I  galloped  up  the  steep 
paved  incline  from  S.  Pietro  to  the  cathedral  piazza,  and 
joined  De  Sonnaz  and  the  Colonels  De  Curten  and  Lazzarini, 
sent  by  Schmidt,  who  did  not  venture  to  show  himself  in  the 
town.  Finding  them  intractable,  I  drew  out  my  watch  and 
said,  *  It  is  now  five  ;  if  at  five  forty-five  the  citadel  has  not 
surrendered,  I  open  fire  from  S.  Pietro.'  Then  ordering  De 
Sonnaz  to  retreat,  I  went  back  to  my  position.  There  I 
found  Fanti,  who  had  come  with  an  aide-de-camp  to  know 
what  had  happened.  He  approved  of  my  ultimatum,  being 
anxious  to  come  to  a  conclusion,  as  he  had  heard  that 
Lamoriciere  was  hastening  towards  Ancona,  and  wanted  to 
launch  the  5th  corps  in  pursuit.  Cialdini,  with  the  4th 
corps,  was  to  intercept  him,  and  Fanti  hoped  to  crush  the 
mercenary  troops  between  our  two  armies ;  Cadorna,  with 
his  division,  having  meanwhile  advanced  towards  Gubbio 
to  reinforce  the  4th  corps.     Time  passed  without  any  sign 


i86      AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A    VETERAN 

of  surrender,  and  after  looking  at  his  watch  several  times 
the  commander-in-chief  gave  the  order  to  fire,  and  our 
eight  guns  did  considerable  damage  to  the  fortress.  Im- 
mediately afterwards  De  Sonnaz  sent  in  hot  haste  to  beg 
us  to  cease  firing,  as  the  citadel  had  capitulated. 

Fanti,  De  Sonnaz,  I  and  some  of  our  staffs  entered  the 
convent  of  S.  Pietro,  where  the  Colonels  De  Curten  and 
Lazzarini  soon  joined  us,  with  full  powers  from  Schmidt. 
We  asked  the  custodian  to  give  us  a  room,  which  he 
declined  to  do,  adding,  that  in  any  case  we  could  not  have  ink 
or  pens.  '  Really  ! '  answered  Fanti.  '  Go  to  your  superiors, 
and  say  that  if  a  room  is  not  opened  at  once,  and  pens,  ink 
and  paper  provided,  I  shall  call  in  a  battalion  of  soldiers, 
who  will  know  how  to  open  doors  and  find  what  is  neces- 
sary.' In  a  few  minutes  a  room  on  the  ground  floor  was 
opened  for  us,  and  paper,  pens  and  ink  were  brought  The 
conditions  of  surrender  were  signed  by  De  Sonnaz  and  the 
two  Pontifical  colonels  in  Schmidt's  name.  Thus,  on  the 
14th  September  i860,  Perugia  was  avenged  for  the  mal- 
treatment she  received  on  the  20th  June  1859  a-t  the  hands 
of  Schmidt.  He  was  made  prisoner,  and  we  sent  him  out 
of  the  town  under  a  strong  escort  at  night,  as  the  people 
threatened  to  tear  him  to  pieces. 

That  same  evening  Fanti  sent  off  part  of  the  troops  to 
Foligno,  leaving  a  garrison  at  Perugia,  and  despatched 
General  Brignone  to  take  the  fortress  of  Spoleto,  defended 
by  eight  hundred  Irish  mercenaries.  As  the  fortress  com- 
mands the  road  to  Rome,  it  was  important  for  us  to  hold 
it  to  prevent  reinforcements  reaching  the  enemy. 

Just  before  leaving  Perugia  for  Foligno  with  Fanti  I 
met  the  detachment  of  soldiers  with  the  condemned  priest. 
A  fine,  tall  man  of  about  forty,  he  walked  slowly  but  firmly, 
and  never  raised  his  eyes  from  his  breviary.  Although  a 
gun,  lately  discharged,  with  the  barrel  still  warm,  was 
found  in  his  room,  he  persisted  in  declaring  that  he  had 


EXECUTION  OF  THE  PRIEST  A  T  PERUGIA    187 

not  fired  the  fatal  shot,  but  declined  to  name  the  culprit. 
I  should  have  liked  to  pardon  him,  but  Fanti,  although  not 
more  bloodthirsty  than  myself,  thought  an  example  was 
necessary  in  order  to  prevent  a  recurrence  of  such  treachery. 
Some  hours  before,  the  Archbishop  of  Perugia  (Cardinal 
Pecci),  now  Pope  Leo  XIII.,  sent  to  say  he  wished  to  see 
me,  but  as  I  had  a  shrewd  suspicion  what  he  wanted  I 
excused  myself  on  the  plea  of  important  business.  The 
death  of  the  priest  was  greeted  with  shouts  of  applause 
from  the  crowd,  who  remembered  the  atrocities  of  1859 
and  the  oppression  suffered  since. 

Our  march  in  pursuit  of  Lamorici^re  was  not  accom- 
plished with  the  rapidity  planned  by  Fanti.  The  excessive 
steepness  of  the  road  between  Foligno  and  Colfiorito 
retarded  the  commissariat  waggons  and  the  artillery.  The 
troops  had  to  bivouac  for  a  night  and  wait  for  them,  which 
gave  Lamoriciere  the  advantage  of  two  marches  over  us. 

Having  taken  the  fortress  of  Pesaro  on  the  1 2th, 
Cialdini  made  an  admirably  planned  forced  march  on 
lesi  and  Osimo,  positions  which  effectually  barred  the 
advance  of  the  enemy  towards  Ancona,  On  the  i6th 
he  reached  Castelfidardo  and  Le  Crocette,  where  he  met 
the  Papal  troops  on  the  i8th  and  completely  beat  them. 
Nothing  therefore  remained  for  us  (the  5th  corps)  but  to 
besiege  Ancona.  I  remember  we  met  the  courier  from 
Rome  to  Tolentino,  Macerata,  etc.,  on  the  summit  of  the 
Apennines,  and,  according  to  the  right,  or  at  any  rate  the 
usage,  of  war,  Fanti  stopped  the  coach  and  seized  the  mails. 
We  returned  most  of  the  letters  to  the  bag,  only  keeping 
those  which  contained  information  which  might  be  of  use 
to  us.  Among  them  was  one  to  Lamoriciere  from  a  rich 
landowner  at  Macerata,  offering  to  lodge  and  feed  a  portion 
of  his  troops  on  his  farms,  and  placing  his  house  and  all  it 
contained  at  his  service.  On  arriving  at  Macerata,  Fanti 
sent  for  this  gentleman  and  informed  him  that  a  certain 


1 88      AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A    VETERAN 

number  of  men  would  be  quartered  on  his  farms,  and  that 
he  and  his  staff  intended  to  lodge  in  his  house.  Lamoriciere's 
friend  declared  his  farms  were  few  and  ill-provided,  and  his 
house  small  and  quite  unworthy  to  receive  so  great  a 
general  and  his  suite.  Fanti  suavely  replied  that  he  and 
his  soldiers  would  be  quite  satisfied  with  what  he  could 
provide,  and  then  handed  him  the  letter  intended  for  the 
Papal  general.     The  poor  man's  face  was  a  study ! 

We  had  met  fugitives  from  the  Papal  army  at  Tolentino, 
where  we  halted  on  the  way  to  Macerata,  among  them 
several  officers  riding  at  full  gallop.  With  some  difficulty 
we  succeeded  in  stopping  one,  and  heard  of  the  battle  at 
Castelfidardo,  which  was  probably  still  going  on. 

On  the  20th  I  entered  Macerata,  where  I  heard  more 
details  about  the  victory  of  Castelfidardo,  and  next  day 
met  Fanti  at  Loreto.  Soon  afterwards  Cialdini  joined  us, 
and  we  started  for  Ancona  to  besiege  the  fortress.  Cialdini 
was  to  invest  it  on  the  left  side,  I  on  the  right,  and  the  fleet 
had  orders  to  assist  our  operations. 

My  right  wing  rested  on  the  high  rocks  overlooking  the 
sea,  my  left  extended  down  towards  the  Pia  gate,  where 
Cialdini  had  his  headquarters.  Fanti  established  his  at 
the  Favorita,  near  Castro,  and  I  took  up  mine  at  the  Villa 
Bosdari,  on  the  heights  of  Monte  Acuto.  Opposite  me 
were  the  two  strong  redoubts  of  Monte  Pelago  and  Monte 
Pulito.  We  threw  up  batteries,  and  on  the  fourth  day 
opened  fire.  On  the  25th  the  enemy  made  a  sortie  to 
interrupt  our  work,  but  the  Bologna  brigade,  which  was 
at  the  outposts,  drove  them  back  under  the  lunette  of  fort 
Pelago.  Here  our  men  had  to  wait  for  reinforcements  in 
order  to  surround  the  position.  Soon  afterwards  the  Bersa- 
glieri  came  up,  and  the  enemy  were  driven  back  at  the  point 
of  the  bayonet.  The  flag  of  the  Bologna  brigade  was  planted 
on  the  conquered  positions  of  Monte  Pelago  and  Monte 
Pulito,  which  the  enemy  in  vain  attempted  to  wrest  from  us. 


SIEGE  OF  ANCONA  189 

A  large  number  of  Papal  troops  were  in  the  Gardetto 
fort,  which  my  corps  attacked  on  the  28th,  supported  by 
the  fire  of  the  fleet,  whose  shells  passed  over  our  heads. 
At  the  same  time  Cialdini  made  a  feint  attack  in  another 
direction  to  draw  off  part  of  the  enemy's  forces.  The  day 
— a  brilliant  one  for  our  navy  and  our  army — ended  with  a 
tremendous  explosion  ;  a  dense  cloud  of  smoke,  torn  by 
long  tongues  of  flame,  rose  into  the  sky.  A  shell  had 
exploded  in  the  powder  magazine.  Soon  afterwards  a 
white  flag  ran  up  on  the  citadel  where  Lamorici^re  was, 
and  firing  ceased  on  both  sides,  only  to  recommence  at 
eight  in  the  evening,  as  he  demurred  to  our  conditions.  I 
ordered  Colonel  Ferrero,  with  the  4th  Lombard  regiment, 
to  occupy  the  suburbs  during  the  night  with  three 
battalions  and  two  guns,  and  destroy  the  Calamo  gate, 
which  would  admit  me  into  the  fortifications.  He  reached 
the  gate,  but  unfortunately  one  of  his  guns  burst,  which 
somewhat  retarded  operations.  Next  morning  the  capi- 
tulation was  signed,  and  the  inhabitants  tore  down 
the  battered  remains  of  the  gate  to  let  my  men  in.  I 
telegraphed  to  Fanti  for  permission  to  enter  Ancona,  and 
at  five  in  the  afternoon  marched  in  with  my  staff  at  the 
head  of  the  4th  Grenadier  regiment,  destined  to  garrison 
the  citadel.  The  same  evening  the  12th  regiment  of 
Bersaglieri  and  the  marines  joined  me,  and  on  the  30th 
the  4th  corps  entered  the  town  with  Generals  Fanti  and 
Cialdini  at  their  head. 

The  king  arrived  off  Ancona  in  the  Maria  Adelaide 
on  the  3d  October,  and  after  reviewing  the  troops  by  the 
seashore,  rode  to  the  government  palace,  where  he  spent 
twenty-four  hours  in  listening  to  our  reports  and  to  those 
of  the  government  commissioners.  Then  he  despatched 
Fanti  and  Cialdini  to  Turin  to  consult  with  Cavour,  and 
during  their  absence  confided  the  command  of  the  army 
to  me.     I  was  also  charged  to  prepare  an  itinerary  for 


190      AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A    VETERAN 

the  march   of  the  two  corps  to   Isernia  on  the   crest  of 
the  Apennines. 

His  Majesty  took  up  his  residence  on  the  hill  outside 
the  Pia  gate,  and  as  I  was  perpetually  backwards  and 
forwards  between  my  headquarters  and  his  villa,  I  met 
the  Countess  Mirafiore,  whom  I  had  not  seen  for  years. 
Though  she  had  been  living  fourteen  years  with  the  king, 
and  must  have  been  thirty,  she  looked  wonderfully  young 
and  had  not  lost  her  beauty.  But  she  dressed  very  badly 
in  a  theatrical  style.  I  remember  one  morning  the  king 
made  me  stay  for  lunch,  as  he  had  not  finished  signing 
the  orders  for  the  day,  and  Rosina  appeared  in  a  volumin- 
ous and  immensely  long  sort  of  dressing-gown,  with  a 
diadem  of  brilliants  on  her  head,  strings  of  pearls,  reach- 
ing to  her  waist,  round  her  neck,  and  her  arms  and  fingers 
covered  with  jewels.  I  was  no  favourite  of  hers,  and  she 
showed  it ;  for  though  I  knew  her  as  a  girl  I  had  never 
been  near  her  since  she  became  the  king's  mistress.  But 
Rosina  was  not  a  bad  or  intriguing  woman,  never  tried  to 
injure  me,  and  I  do  not  believe  she  ever  did  an  ill-natured 
thing  to  anyone. 

On  the  return  of  Fanti  and  Cialdini  the  king  expressed 
his  sorrow  at  not  being  able  to  keep  me  as  his  chief  of 
the  staff.  Having  taken  over  the  supreme  command  of 
the  army,  he  felt  bound  to  give  Fanti  the  position  I  had 
filled  in  1848  and  1859.  Policy,  or  rather  Cavour,  who, 
since  Villafranca,  had  borne  me  a  grudge,  thus  ordered  it. 
But  with  his  usual  kindness  Victor  Emanuel  arranged  that 
my  corps  should  march  with  him.  Only  long  afterwards 
I  learnt  that,  seeing  I  disliked  Cavour's  idea  of  leaving 
me  in  command  of  the  troops  in  Umbria  and  the  Marches, 
instead  of  taking  an  active  part  in  the  Neapolitan  cam- 
paign, the  king  had  insisted  on  my  retaining  the  command 
of  the  5th  corps,  which  was  under  his  direct  orders. 


CHAPTER    XVII 

Plebiscite  at  Sulmona — Immorality  of  the  Neapolitans — Garibaldi  at  Capua — 
His  Noble  Conduct — Siege  and  Capitulation  of  Capua — Garibaldi 
Dictator  of  Naples — Victor  Emanuel  enters  Naples — Miracle  of  San 
Gennaro — Mazzini  and  the  two  Dumas'. 

From  Terni  I  rode  with  a  small  escort  across  the  Nea- 
politan frontier  to  Citta  Ducale,  and  thence  to  Antrodoco. 
On  the  20th  October  I  was  at  Aquila,  where  everything 
was  quiet.  Popoli,  which  I  reached  late  in  the  evening, 
was  crowded  with  the  military  train  of  my  corps  and 
with  commissariat  waggons.  Groups  of  volunteers  on 
their  way  to  join  Garibaldi  were  shouting,  singing  and 
drinking  success  to  Italy  in  every  street.  At  daylight 
I  started  for  Sulmona,  and  wishing  to  see  the  voting 
for  the  plebiscite,  entered  the  town  on  foot.  The  crowd 
was  extraordinary,  and  nearly  every  man  had  a  bit  of 
paper  with  a  big  Si  (Yes)  stuck  in  his  hatband  ;  very 
few  bore  a  No.  I  was  watching  the  scene,  when  screams 
and  angry  shouts  of  *  Death  to  the  Bourbons ! '  '  Long 
live  Victor  Emanuel ! '  '  Hurrah  for  Italy ! '  arose,  and 
I  saw  an  officer  of  our  carabineers  attempting  to  protect 
a  Neapolitan  general  from  the  fury  of  the  people.  Seeing 
the  officer  would  not  be  able  to  save  his  prisoner,  I  made 
a  rush  with  my  two  aides-de-camp  through  the  crowd. 
'  Save  me!  save  me!'  cried  the  poor  wretch;  'these  madmen 
want  to  kill  me.'  Cigala  and  Gianotti  placed  themselves 
on  either  side  of  the  general,  while  I  harangued  the  crowd, 

T91 


192      AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A    VETERAN 

telling  them  that  no  barbarous  action  should  be  committed 
in  the  name  of  Victor  Emanuel  and  of  Italy,  that  the  laws 
of  civilised  nations  commanded  prisoners  to  be  respected, 
and  that  no  one  would  be  allowed  to  hurt  a  man  who 
was  in  our  hands.  I  had  hardly  finished  speaking,  when  a 
ruffianly-looking  fellow  came  up  to  me  and  said,  '  Who  are 
you,  to  mix  yourself  up  in  our  concerns ? '  'I  am  General 
Delia  Rocca,  commanding  one  of  the  coi'ps  d^armie^  who 
have  come  to  liberate  you.'  I  answered.  The  names  of 
Fanti,  Cialdini,  and  Delia  Rocca,  were  probably  known 
through  the  newspapers,  for  as  soon  as  I  pronounced  my 
name  the  crowd  began  to  cheer,  'Long  live  Delia  Rocca!' 
'  Long  live  Fanti ! '  '  Long  live  Cialdini ! '  My  aide-de- 
camp Cigala  conducted  the  Bourbon  general,  a  certain 
Scotti  Douglas  of  Parma,  whom  Cialdini  had  taken 
prisoner  on  the  Apennines,  half  fainting  to  the  barracks 
of  the  carabineers,  whence  he  was  sent  to  Piedmont,  and, 
I  believe,  soon  set  at  liberty. 

From  Sulmona  I  went  to  join  the  king  at  Castel  di 
Sangro,  and  heard  His  Majesty  had  been  received  every- 
where with  enthusiasm.  At  Isernia,  where  we  arrived 
on  the  22d,  a  council  of  war  was  held.  It  was  decided 
to  advance  on  Naples,  which  had  been  abandoned  by 
King  Francis  and  immediately  occupied  by  Garibaldi 
in  conjunction  with  our  troops.  Naples  was  to  be  our 
new  base,  and  our  line  of  operations  the  Garigliano.  I 
was  to  take  Capua,  which  intercepted  our  advance  on 
Naples,  while  the  king,  with  the  4th  corps  and  the  chief 
part  of  mine,  marched  towards  the  Garigliano  in  search 
of  the  Bourbon  army.  Owing  to  inexact  information 
given  by  prisoners  as  to  the  strength  of  the  garrison  at 
Capua,  and  counting  on  the  aid  of  the  Garibaldians,  who 
had  been  for  nearly  a  month  investing  the  place,  I  only 
took  a  few  battalions.  At  Teano  I  separated  from  our 
main  body,  turning  off  on  the  road  to  Alife.     Soon  after- 


IMMORALITY  OF  THE  NEAPOLITANS       193 

wards   the   king  met  the  Bourbon   troops,  and   defeated 
them  after  three  hours'  fighting.^ 

Between  Venafro  and  AHfe  I  met  General  Garibaldi 
and  his  aide-de-camp  in  search  of  the  king.  I  put  him 
in  the  right  direction,  and  heard  afterwards  that  he  found 
Victor  Emanuel  at  Quadriglia,  and  for  the  first  time 
saluted  him  enthusiastically  as  King  of  Italy. 

At  Alife  the  bishop,  an  excellent,  high-minded  man, 
came  to  see  me.  He  belonged  to  the  Liberal  section  of 
the  Neapolitan  clergy,  who  hoped  that  a  new  govern- 
ment might  sweep  away  the  corruption  and  abuses  which 
had  infested  the  country  for  centuries.  We  talked  for 
more  than  an  hour,  and  I  remember  my  astonishment 
when,  among  other  things,  he  said,  '  You  will  easily 
beat  the  Neapolitan  army,  the  soldiers  are  cowards,  they 
have  no  backbone  ;  but  you  will  find  it  difficult  to  over- 
come the  immorality  of  the  Neapolitans,  particularly  of 
a  great  part  of  the  clergy.  I  have  lived  in  the  south  for 
more  than  twenty  years,  and  sad  experience  has  taught 
me  how  little  one  can  do  for  their  amelioration,  even 
by  incessant  work.  You  will  not  really  conquer  the 
Neapolitans  until  you  succeed  in  teaching  them  the  holy 
truth  of  moral  order,  and,  I  warn  you,  that  will  take 
time  and  labour.'  I  heard  afterwards  that  the  good 
bishop  had  talked  in  the  same  sense  to  the  king  and 
to  Farini,  insisting  on  the  necessity  of  reforming  the 
universal  immorality  of  all  classes  of  the  population. 

^  He  wrote  to  me  : — 

'  Teano,  ^^th  Oct.  i860. 

'  MON  CHER  General, — Hier  soir  j'ai  trouv^  I'ennemi  en  force  k  moitie 
route,  entre  Teano  et  Sessa,  sur  les  hauteurs.  Le  combat  dura  trois  heures, 
I'ennemi  fut  repouss^  \  Sessa,  je  crois  en  retraite  vers  le  Garigliano.  II  avait 
seize  bataillons  de  chasseurs  et,  je  crois,  grande  partie  on  toute  I'armee.  Les 
prisonniers  m'assurent  n'y  avoir  en  Capoue  qu'un  regiment  et  un  bataillon. 
Portez  vous  aussit6t  sur  cette  ville  .  .  .  et  tachez  de  la  faire  rendre  au  plus 
t6t,  ceci  est  tr^s  important  pour  notre  politique  tr^s  tendue. 

*  Tenez  moi  au  courant  de  tout.    Je  vous  embrasse. — Votre  tr^s  affectionn^, 

*  Victor  Emanuel.' 
N 


194      AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A    VETERAN 

On  the  28th  October  I  arrived  at  Santa  Maria  (di 
Capua).  Immediately  after  the  victory  of  Volturno,  in  the 
beginning  of  the  month,  Garibaldi,  with  about  thirty  thou- 
sand men,  called  the  Southern  Army  {Esercito  Meridionale\ 
had  surrounded  Capua,  but,  lacking  artillery,  was  able  to 
do  nothing.  They  were  stationed  at  Santa  Maria,  at 
Caserta,  at  Avellino,  and  on  the  road  called  Formicola,  on 
the  right  bank  of  the  Volturno.  After  going  over  the 
lines  fronting  the  fortifications  of  the  town,  I  went  to 
Monte  Sant'  Angelo,  where  Garibaldi  had  established 
himself.  He  told  me  the  king  had  informed  him  of  the 
orders  given  to  me,  and  added,  '  My  opinion  is  that  in 
war  unity  of  command  is  indispensable.'  I  had  expected 
some  such  objection,  and  it  never  entered  my  head  to 
claim  the  supreme  command  of  his  troops;  still,  it  was 
impossible  for  me,  in  spite  of  my  respect  and  admiration, 
to  serve  under  him.  I  therefore  answered  that  while 
surveying  the  lines  of  attack  I  had  seen  the  positions  of 
his  troops  on  the  heights  to  the  right  of  the  fortress  and 
on  part  of  the  narrow  plain  on  the  slopes,  and  had  come 
to  the  conclusion  that,  if  I  occupied  the  plain  to  the  left,  we 
could  work  together  with  good  results  and  without  inter- 
fering with  each  other.  He  listened  in  silence,  and  after 
some  minutes  said,  '  If  not  inconvenient  to  you,  we  can 
meet  again  to-day  between  four  and  five,  and  I  will  give 
you  my  answer.'  A  little  before  five  I  was  at  his  quarters, 
and  found  the  Dictator  surrounded  by  all  his  generals — 
Cosenz,  Medici,  Sirtori,  etc.  Garibaldi  introduced  us, 
saying  I  had  been  charged  by  the  king  to  besiege  Capua 
and  take  the  fortress  without  loss  of  time ;  and  that,  being 
averse  to  any  division  of  command,  he  placed  the  whole 
of  his  army  under  my  control  for  this  undertaking.  But, 
fearing  lest  his  volunteers  might  raise  difificulties  if  this 
were  known,  he  wished  them  to  believe  that  he  was  still 
in  their  midst.     '  I  therefore  beg,'  he  continued,  '  General 


NOBLE  CONDUCT  OF  GARIBALDI        195 

Delia  Rocca  and  all  of  you  to  keep  this  secret.  General 
Sirtori,  in  whom  I  have  absolute  confidence,  will  transmit 
the  orders  of  General  Delia  Rocca  to  my  men,  as  though 
they  came  from  me.  I  am  called  to  Naples  on  urgent 
business  relating  to  the  Dictatorship,  but  shall  be  ready 
to  return  at  once  should  my  presence  be  necessary.'  He 
then  shook  my  hand  and  wished  me  good  luck.  Every- 
thing being  thus  satisfactorily  arranged,  I  sent  my  head 
of  the  staff  to  General  De  Come,  commanding  in  Capua, 
with  a  letter  informing  him  that  I  had  orders  to  take  the 
fortress,  and  enough  troops  to  do  it  with.  Resistance  being 
useless,  I  invited  him  to  surrender  in  order  to  save  the 
town  and  its  inhabitants  the  horrors  of  a  siege.  Mean- 
while, with  Meneabrea  and  Colonel  Bottacco  of  the 
artillery,  I  chose  the  places  for  establishing  the  batteries. 
These  were  begun  the  same  night,  General  De  Corne 
having  refused  to  surrender. 

Having  only  batteries  of  sixteen,  I  sent  to  Naples  for 
heavier  guns.  Twenty-four  hours  later  Valfre,  commander- 
in-chief  of  the  artillery,  arrived  himself  with  twenty  heavy 
pieces,  and  in  less  than  three  days  they  were  in  position. 
Just  as  we  were  firing  the  first  shots  to  get  the  range,  the 
king,  impatient  for  an  answer  to  a  letter  he  had  written 
from  Sessa,^  rode  up,  accompanied  by  only  one  aide-de- 

1  '  Sessa,  It  31  Octobre,  i860. 
'  MoN  CHER  Macigno,* — Donnez-moi  des  nouvelles  exactes  de  Capua, 
et  dites  moi  quand  vous  croyez  que  cela  sera  fait ;  plus  ce  cera  vite,  mieux 
9a  sera.  En  attendant,  avant  hier  on  m'a  fait  une  betise.  Je  donnais  I'ordre 
4  .  .  .  de  reconnaitre  le  Garigliano,  lui,  croyant  bien  faire,  s'avan9a  vers  le 
pont  avec  trois  regiments  de  cavalerie,  quatre  bataillons  de  Bersaglieri  et  deux 
batteries  sans  me  le  dire.  Aussit6t  le  feu  s'engagea  avec  deux  bataillons  de 
chasseurs  qui  etaient  de  ce  c6t^-ci  du  pont,  et  la  cavalerie,  port^e  tr^s  en 
avant,  fiat  fortement  mitraill^e.  En  entendant  le  feu,  je  me  portais  sur  place 
avec  Sonnaz,  mais  c'etait  trop  tard,  c'etait  le  bon  de  Taction.  Les  Nap>olitains 
de  I'autre  c6t^  du  fleuve  faisaient  un  feu  d'enfer,  je  donnais  I'ordre  de  retirer 
les  troupes,  chose  d^sagr^able,  mais  n^cessaire  :  on  avait  d^ja  tu^  et  bless^ 

•  Granite — a  play  upon  General  Delia  Rocca's  {rock)  name. 


196      AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A    VETERAN 

camp,  running  some  risk  of  being  taken  a  prisoner.  With 
my  habitual  frankness  I  told  His  Majesty  that  his  presence 
at  that  moment  was  very  inconvenient,  and  after  asking 
me  how  long  I  thought  the  siege  would  last,  and  receiving 
my  assurance  that,  although  the  garrison  consisted  of 
several  thousand  men  instead  of  a  few  hundred,  as  we  had 
been  informed,  in  three  days  Capua  would  be  ours,  he 
shook  hands  and  rode  off.  Heavy  firing  began  at  4  p.m. 
on  the  1st  November,  to  which  the  fortress  replied.  To- 
wards evening  I  was  forced  to  slacken  fire  for  want  of 
ammunition,  and  only  sent  two  or  three  bombs  an  hour 
during  the  night.  Some  of  these  burst  in  the  town,  and, 
among  other  buildings,  set  fire  to  the  palace  of  the  bishop, 
who  immediately  went  to  the  commandant  and  advised 
him  to  surrender.  Before  six  in  the  morning  of  the  2d 
November  two  superior  officers  came  to  my  headquarters  ; 

35  hommes  du  septieme  bataillon,  5  ofRciers,  et  pris  du  meme  bataillon  3a 
prisonniers  qui  betement  s'etaient  pousses  de  I'autre  c6te  du  pont,  croyant  de 
devoir  le  prendre  et  qui  furent  entoures.  Une  20.  ne  de  chevaux  de  Piemont 
Royal  y  resterent.  Dans  la  retraite  les  chasseurs  Napolitains  repasserent  le 
pont  et  nous  suivirent  un  peu  et  puis  s'arr8terent.  Maintenant  leurs  avant 
postes  sont  plus  pres  de  nous,  nous  n'avons  pas  encore  pu  faire  de  pont. 
Celui  de  Gaiazzo  n'est  pas  arrive,  nous  avions  combine  avec  la  marine  d'en 
faire  un  a  I'embouchure  du  Garigliano,  mais  I'Amiral  fran9ais  vient  se  mettre 
en  bataille  en  face  de  nos  navires,  et  declare  les  couler  a  fond  si  on  tire  un 
coup  de  canon,  et  si  on  met  le  pont.  Je  suis  sur  que  c'est  de  son  cru,  car 
I'empereur  n'a  pas  de  ces  idees  ;  aussi  je  viens  d'ecrire  une  lettre  plus  qu' 
energique  que  Persano  lui  enverra.  Entr'  autres  choses  I'Amiral  dit  que  le 
Garigliano  fait  partie  de  la  place  de  Gaete,  et  que  lui  se  trouverait  avec  la 
flotte  entre  deux  feux,  de  la  place  et  les  n6tres,  lorsqu'il  y  a  14  kilometres 
entre  la  place  et  nous.  On  dit  que  c'est  un  ami  de  Lamoriciere.  C.  .  .  .  est 
celui  qui  a  eu  le  plus  de  tort  dans  I'affaire  de  I'autre  jour,  car  il  a  fait 
mitrailler  la  cavalerie,  et  a  ordonne  aux  Bersaglieri  de  passer  le  pont  oii 
il  n'y  avait  qu'une  planche  oui  et  une  non.  J'ai  donne  perruque  a  tout  le 
monde. 

'  L'ennemi  est  en  force  de  45,ocx)  hommes  de  I'autre  cote  et  quantite 
d'artillerie. 

'  Demain  nous  verrons  si  on  peut  faire  mieux  et  passer  en  faisant  mettre  un 
pont  6  milles  plus  haut. 

'Je  vous  embrasse. — Votre  tres  affectionne,  Victor  Emanuel.' 


SIEGE  OF  CAPUA  197 

one,  a  General  Liguori,  asked  me  for  a  free  pass  for  Gaeta 
in  order  to  consult  with  King  Francis.  I  explained  the 
impossibility  of  granting  such  an  extraordinary  request, 
showed  him  the  very  easy  conditions  of  surrender  I  had 
already  drawn  up,  and  advised  him  to  return  to  his 
commanding  officer  and  induce  him  to  accept  them. 
Firing  had  been  stopped  on  their  arrival,  and  I  gave  the 
general  till  nine  o'clock  to  bring  me  an  affirmative  answer. 
As  the  clock  struck  nine  I  sent  my  aide-de-camp  to  order 
the  batteries  to  open  fire,  and  directly  afterwards  Liguori 
arrived  in  hot  haste  and  accepted  my  conditions.  The 
garrison,  eleven  thousand  five  hundred  strong,  were  fine 
men  and  well  dressed.  They  could  not  conceal  their 
satisfaction  at  the  cessation  of  hostilities  and  danger,  and 
were  sent  to  Naples  with  their  families,  about  five  thousand 
old  men,  women  and  children.  The  Bourbons  favoured 
matrimony  in  their  army,  and  gave  rations  to  the  soldiers' 
families. 

Garibaldi  said,  when  he  left  on  the  evening  of  the 
28th  October,  '  I  am  going  to  Caserta,  but  to-morrow  shall 
be  at  Naples,  where  I  have  much  to  do.'  On  the  30th 
I  heard  he  was  still  at  Caserta,  and  ill ;  so,  while  the 
engineers  were  working  at  the  batteries,  I  rode  over  to  see 
him.  With  his  usual  simplicity  in  private  life,  he  had 
declined  to  inhabit  the  palace  at  Caserta,  and  I  found  him 
in  a  little  room  above  the  guardhouse  at  the  entrance. 
On  dismounting,  I  observed  several  barrels  of  powder,  and 
when  I  entered  the  room  of  the  Dictator  noticed  his  bed 
was  exactly  over  the  spot  where  the  powder  had  been 
placed.  I  begged  him  to  move  immediately ;  and,  smiling, 
he  promised  to  do  so.  Propped  up  with  pillows,  he  was 
wrapped  in  a  military  cloak,  a  little  cap  on  his  head,  and  a 
silk  handkerchief  knotted  round  his  neck.  As  I  entered, 
he  held  out  his  hand,  and  seemed  quite  touched  when  I  told 
him  I  had  only  come  to  ask  how  he  was.     He  was  still 


196      AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A    VETERAN 

more  pleased  when  I  told  him  how  well  I  got  on  with 
his  generals,  Cosenz  and  Sirtori,  notable  personages  and 
most  excellent  men,  and  how  I  regretted  the  enforced 
absence  of  Bixio,  who  had  been  sent  to  hospital  in  Naples 
owing  to  a  fall  from  his  horse.  Mine  were  no  idle  com- 
pliments ;  I  meant  what  I  said,  and  I  saw  Garibaldi  was 
pleased  that  I  appreciated  his  friends. 

As  soon  as  the  capitulation  was  signed  I  sent  off 
my  aide-de-camp.  Cigala,  to  Garigliano  with  a  note  to 
the  king.  When  he  had  read  it,  he  exclaimed,  '  Capua 
is  ours  !  Hurrah  for  La  Rocca ! '  '  Hurrah  !  Hurrah  ! 
Long  live  La  Rocca ! '  was  repeated  by  all  his  staff. 
The  king  asked  for  a  pencil,  and  sent  me  a  note 
ordering  all  the  guns  taken  at  Capua  to  be  sent  to  him, 
and  bidding  me  go  to  Naples  and  take  over  the  com- 
mand there. 

I  confess  that  I  was  delighted,  but  not  astonished,  at  the 
description  Cigala  gave  me  of  the  reception  of  my  news, 
for  I  knew  that  in  the  small  military  Court  circle  of  Victor 
Emanuel  I  was  liked  and  esteemed.  But  lately,  in  the 
Memoirs  {Ricordt)  of  General  Genova  Revel,  I  see  it  is 
broadly  hinted  that  I  opposed  Fanti  about  the  disbanding 
of  the  Garibaldians,  and  suggested  to  the  king  to  be  over- 
indulgent  towards  the  Southern  Army  to  the  detriment  of 
the  regular  army.  Fanti,  as  minister  of  war,  foresaw  the 
disorders  and  annoyances  which  the  volunteers  might  cause 
when  the  war  was  over,  and  very  properly  advised  the 
king  to  disband  them  at  once.  Victor  Emanuel,  knowing 
that  it  would  grieve  Garibaldi,  whose  great  services  and 
perfect  loyalty  and  generosity  he  fully  recognised,  was 
averse  to  such  prompt  action.  I  well  remember  his  saying 
to  me,  '  They  are  in  too  great  a  hurry ;  they  make  me  cut  a 
sorry  figure.  I  cannot  show  less  generosity  than  Garibaldi.' 
These  were  entirely  personal  impressions  of  the  king's,  and 
suggested  by  no  one.     But  having  a  strong  admiration  for 


GARIBALDI  DICTATOR   OF  NAPLES       199 

Garibaldi,  who  had  behaved  so  well  and  nobly  to  me  at 
Capua,  I  certainly  could  not  combat  them. 

Before  leaving  Capua  I  went  over  the  citadel,  and  in 
the  prison  found  and  set  at  liberty  Arrivabene,  the  cor- 
respondent of  the  Morning  Post.  He  had  been  taken  by 
the  Bourbons  during  the  battle  of  Volturno  and  imprisoned 
as  a  spy.  On  the  4th  November  I  left  for  Naples,  with 
rather  a  perturbed  mind.  It  was  all  very  well  for  the  king 
to  tell  me  to  go  there  and  take  the  command.  At  Naples 
there  was  a  Dictator,  Garibaldi ;  a  pro-Dictator,  George 
Pallavicino  ;  General  Tiirr,  and  several  other  commanders 
of  large  bodies  of  troops,  all  men  of  note.  For  me  to 
arrive,  perhaps  without  having  been  officially  announced, 
and  say,  '  Here  I  am,  now  you  can  all  go,'  was  no  easy 
task.  I  could  only  do  as  I  had  done  before — trust  in  the 
star  of  Victor  Emanuel.  Garibaldi  was  at  dinner  with 
twenty-five  guests,  and  I  sent  in  to  beg  him  not  to  leave 
them,  as  I  would  wait  to  give  him  a  message  from  the 
king.  In  a  few  minutes  the  Dictator  appeared,  and, 
taking  me  by  the  hand,  presented  me  to  those  who  had 
followed  him  into  the  drawing-room — '  Gentlemen,  I  pre- 
sent General  Delia  Rocca,  who  only  took  three  days  to 
besiege  and  conquer  Capua.'  After  a  few  complimentary 
words,  I  drew  Garibaldi  aside,  and  said,  '  To-night  my 
troops  arrive  from  Capua  with  eleven  thousand  five  hun- 
dred men  of  the  Bourbon  garrison  ;  barracks  and  forts 
must  be  ready  for  them.'  '  I  understand,  of  course,'  he 
answered,  *  room  must  be  found ;  tell  me  where  you  live.' 
*  Close  to  you,  in  the  royal  palace ;  but  my  headquarters 
will  be  in  the  palace  of  the  Prince  of  Capua ;  and  now  I 
am  going  to  dine  at  the  Calata  del  Gigante.'  '  Very  well, 
in  half  an  hour  General  Tiirr,  who  was  in  command  of  the 
city  during  my  absence,  will  be  with  you.  He  will  tell 
you  where  the  troops  can  be  lodged,  and  will  place  himself 
at  your  disposal,  in  case  you  wish  him  to  superintend  their 


200      AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A    VETERAN 

billeting.'  General  Tiirr  joined  me  soon  afterwards,  and 
I  asked  him  to  dine  with  me.  We  arranged  everything ; 
and  I  accepted  the  command  of  the  city  handed  over  to 
me  by  the  orders  of  the  Dictator. 

Thus  all  was  settled  without  the  slightest  difficulty, 
and  with  the  simple  cordiality  of  brothers-at-arms,  I  did 
not  even  produce  Fanti's  order,  countersigned  by  Victor 
Emanuel,  which  I  had  with  me. 

On  the  7th  November  the  king  entered  Naples.  He 
arrived  an  hour  before  the  appointed  time  ;  but  part  of  the 
troops  were  drawn  up  in  the  streets  he  was  to  drive 
through,  and,  luckily,  I  got  to  the  station  in  time  to  accom- 
pany him.  It  was  raining  hard,  and  the  royal  carriages 
were  not  to  be  seen,  so  the  king  entered  a  large  tent, 
where  he  received  the  government  officials  and  the  officers 
of  the  municipality.  When  at  last  the  royal  carriage  drove 
up,  Victor  Emanuel  invited  Garibaldi  to  sit  by  his  side. 
The  Dictator,  dressed  in  his  usual  red  shirt,  grey  cloak 
and  small  cap,  was  wet  through.  Opposite  them  sat 
Pallavicino,  pro-Dictator  of  Naples,  and  Mordini,  pro-Dic- 
tator of  Sicily.  I  rode  on  the  right  hand  of  the  king,  with 
my  drawn  sword. 

All  the  clergy,  with  the  exception  of  the  archbishop, 
who  was  at  Gaeta,  received  Victor  Emanuel  with  great 
pomp  at  the  door  of  the  cathedral.  After  a  solemn  Te 
Deum  had  been  sung,  the  king  and  his  suite  went  into  the 
chapel  of  San  Gennaro,  where,  after  the  miracle  had  taken 
place,  the  holy  relic  was  given  him  to  kiss.  A  few  days 
before  the  question  was  discussed,  Victor  Emanuel  asked 
me  what  I  should  do  in  his  place.  '  I  should  inaugurate 
the  new  era  of  things  by  showing  respect  to  religion  and 
the  church,  but  I  should  abolish  superstition.'  He  was 
very  much  of  my  opinion  ;  but  Farini  and  several  other 
members  of  the  government  said  that,  the  miracle  having 
taken  place  when  Garibaldi  visited  the  chapel,  there  would 


MIRACLE  OF  SAN  GENNARO  201 

be  great  risk  of  setting  the  clergy  and  the  common  people 
against  the  king  if  he  declined  to  go  through  the  cere- 
mony. So  he  determined  to  bow  to  their  opinion,  and  to 
kneel  before  the  miraculous  phial.  The  suite  of  the  king 
not  having  reached  the  cathedral  as  soon  as  ourselves,  I 
dismounted  to  accompany  His  Majesty,  but  his  aides-de- 
camp appearing  just  as  he  was  entering  the  chapel  of  San 
Gennaro,  I  was  enabled  to  retire  and  remount  my  horse 
outside.  In  spite  of  the  heavy  rain,  there  was  tremendous 
enthusiasm  when  the  king  drove  to  the  royal  palace. 

After  the  state  dinner  that  evening,  Victor  Emanuel 
took  Garibaldi  into  his  study,  and  they  remained  talking 
for  a  long  time.  His  Majesty  told  me  that  the  Dictator, 
speaking  about  the  great  difficulties  of  governing  the  Two 
Sicilies,  had  suggested  and  offered  to  remain  as  viceroy, 
if  not  as  dictator,  for  some  time  longer,  in  order  to  use  his 
popularity  for  the  good  of  Italy V^  He  sincerely  thought 
that  his  influence,  especially  in  Sicily,  was  so  great  that 
he  would  have  more  chance  of  success  than  the  govern- 
ment of  the  king.  Victor  Emanuel  listened  without  giving 
any  opinion,  and  said  he  would  give  an  answer  after  con- 
sulting Farini  and  the  members  of  the  government  who 
were  at  Naples.  Fanti  and  Farini  naturally  opposed  any 
such  arrangement,  and  they  were  right.  Garibaldi  was 
sincere  and  honest,  but  he  suffered  himself  to  be  sur- 
rounded and  led  by  persons  whose  only  desire  was  to 
detach  the  south  from  the  north  and  create  a  Republic, 
among  them  was  Mazzini,  who,  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
Caserta,  was  trying,  through  his  partizans  and  emissaries, 
to  foment  disorder  and  insubordination,  particularly  among 
the  young  officers  of  both  armies. 

After  the  pUbiscite,  Mazzini  did  not  go  into  voluntary 
exile,  as  modern  writers  affirm.  He  remained  at  Naples, 
and  with  the  Garibaldians  who  had  been,  or  were  to  be, 
disbanded ;  the  brigands,  and  the  two  Alexandre  Dumas' 


202      AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A    VETERAN 

(father  and  son)  gave  me  a  world  of  trouble  and  annoy- 
ance. The  elder  Dumas  had  taken  possession  of  a  villa 
which,  he  pretended,  the  Dictator  had  given  to  him.  He 
lived  there  with  an  actress  of  I  forget  what  theatre,  and  his 
son  and  Mazzini  often  stayed  with  him.  A  clever  police 
agent,  charged  to  watch  the  agitator,  and  who  knew  how 
dangerous  he  was,  proposed  to  get  rid  of  him  in  a  way  which 
would  appear  perfectly  natural,  and  have  saved  the  govern- 
ment many  an  anxious  moment.  It  would  have  been  a 
criminal  act,  and  I  refused  to  sanction  it.  I  contented  myself 
with  having  him  closely  watched  and  traversing  his  designs, 
and,  after  a  time,  he  momentarily  disappeared  from  the  scene. 

The  king  only  refused  the  offers  of  Garibaldi  after  the 
official  presentation  of  the ////^zi-^V^  on  the  8th  November. 
On  the  same  day  the  rank  of  a  general  in  the  army,  the 
Collar  of  the  Annunziata,  and  a  considerable  pension  was 
offered  to  Garibaldi ;  but  he  refused  everything.  Con- 
sidering himself  still  as  Dictator,  he  made  a  large  number 
of  promotions  and  appointments,  and  demanded  the  Collar 
of  the  Annunziata  for  Pallavicino  and  for  Mordini.  The 
king  had  already  determined  to  give  it  to  the  former,  not 
so  much  for  his  services  under  Garibaldi  as  for  his  splendid 
patriotism  and  the  sufferings  undergone  at  Spielberg  for 
the  Italian  cause,  for  which  he  had  spent  the  greater  part 
of  his  large  fortune. 

Late  in  the  afternoon  the  king  informed  Garibaldi  his 
councillors  disapproved  of  his  offers,  and  that,  to  his  regret, 
he  must  refuse  them.  Neither  anger  nor  disappointment 
was  shown  by  Garibaldi,  who,  the  same  evening,  published 
a  proclamation  to  the  Italian  people,  calling  them  to  rise 
in  the  following  spring  and  complete  the  unity  of  Italy  by 
liberating  Rome  and  Venice.  He  then  embarked  for 
Caprera  with  a  few  of  his  immediate  adherents. 

Next  day,  9th  November,  Farini  was  appointed 
Viceroy  of  the  Two  Sicilies  by  the  king. 


9»^         or  THU  ^ 

■QNIVEBSlT'i 


CHAPTER   XVIII 
1861 

Victor  Emanuel  impatient  for  the  Fall  of  Gaeta — He  induces  me  to 
accept  the  Military  Command  of  the  Two  Sicilies — Prince  Eugene 
of  Carignano  Viceroy  of  Kingdom  of  Naples — Brigandage — Bribery 
— Death  of  Cavour. 

I  MUST  confess  that  my  impressions  of  the  inhabitants  of 
Naples  during  the  first  weeks  I  passed  there  were  most 
unfavourable.  Later,  when  I  made  friends  with  many 
excellent  men,  born  and  educated  in  the  southern  provinces, 
among  my  colleagues  in  the  Senate  and  in  the  army,  they 
were  modified.  Among  these  was  Poerio,  the  type  of 
everything  that  was  great  and  noble. 

The  king  and  the  government  were  impatient  for  Gaeta 
to  fall ;  they  wished  the  capitulation  to  take  place  before 
His  Majesty  left  for  Turin.  Ancona  and  Capua  had 
accustomed  Victor  Emanuel  to  quick  and  successful  opera- 
tions, and  he  did  not  take  the  far  greater  obstacles,  chiefly 
owing  to  the  presence  of  King  Francis  and  the  royal 
family  at  Gaeta,  into  account.  Matters  were  also  com- 
plicated by  the  uncertain  and  hesitating  conduct  of 
Napoleon  III,,  who  maintained  a  French  fleet  in  the  waters 
of  Gaeta,  which  prevented  any  action  being  taken  by  our 
ships.  One  morning  the  king  said  he  should  send  me  to 
hasten  the  siege  ;  but  I  declared  it  would  be  impossible  to 
supplant  Cialdini,  and  declined  any  such  mission.  A  few 
days   later  he   again  broached  the  subject,  proposing  to 

203 


204      AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A   VETERAN 

charge  Cialdini  with  the  amalgamation  of  the  three  armies, 
Sardinian,  Neapolitan  and  Garibaldian — and  give  him  the 
supreme  command  in  southern  Italy.  '  I  know  and  I  like 
Cialdini ! '  I  exclaimed,  *  and  I  am  sure  he  would  be  hurt 
and  would  accept  nothing  until  he  has  taken  Gaeta.'  The 
matter  then  dropped  for  the  moment. 

Meanwhile,  it  became  imperative  to  reorganise  the 
army.  Among  the  many  decrees  brought  from  Turin  by 
Fanti  for  the  king  to  sign  was  one  naming  me  president 
of  the  commission  to  reform  and  weed  the  Garibaldian 
army  :  a  perfect  hornets'  nest  to  be  put  into !  However, 
the  commission  only  met  once  in  Naples,  when  I  read  the 
royal  decree  of  nth  November  i860,  granting  six  months' 
pay  to  the  officers  and  soldiers  of  the  Southern  Army.  A 
discussion  arose  as  to  whether  those  who  had  no  regular 
nominations  from  General  Garibaldi  ought  to  profit  by 
this  decree ;  by  far  the  greater  number  of  officers  were  in 
this  category,  and  it  was  decided  to  give  them  only  three 
months'  pay.  Such  protests  and  difficulties  were,  however, 
raised  by  the  Garibaldians,  who  were  in  Naples,  that  the 
new  ministry,  the  last  one  formed  by  Cavour,  decreed  the 
transfer  of  the  commission  to  Turin. 

One  day  Fanti  met  me  and  said,  '  Let  me  be  the  first 
to  congratulate  you.'  'What  for?'  I  answered.  'The  king 
has  named  you  to  the  military  command  of  the  kingdom 
of  the  Two  Sicilies ;  it  is  a  splendid  position,  one  of  the 
first,  if  not  the  first,  in  the  new  kingdom.'  '  I  am  much 
obliged  to  His  Majesty,'  I  replied,  '  but,  to  tell  you  the  truth, 
I  have  no  wish  for  such  a  post ;  and  when  the  war  is  over, 
my  only  desire  is  to  return  to  where  and  what  I  was.'  I  was 
fully  resolved  only  to  give  my  services  in  the  southern 
provinces  temporarily,  and  to  resign  sooner  than  take  up 
my  residence  there.  As  the  king  said  nothing  to  me,  I 
held  my  tongue,  but  determined  to  speak  frankly  to  him 
next  morning.     Very  early,  before  I  was  dressed,  he  sent 


PRINCE  EUGENE  OF  CARIGNANO        205 

for  me,  and  at  once  asked  why  I  had  been  so  out  of  temper 
the  day  before.  '  For  many  reasons,'  I  answered  ;  '  and  as 
your  Majesty  is  good  enough  to  ask  me,  I  will  tell  you  them.' 
Repeating  Fanti's  words,  I  reminded  him  that  early  in  the 
year  I  had  repeatedly  refused  the  command  offered  until 
I  knew  war  to  be  imminent.  '  I  think  I  have  done  my 
duty,'  I  added,  'and  been  of  some  service  to  the  Italian 
cause  ;  but  in  time  of  peace  my  only  wish  is  to  remain  with 
your  Majesty.  As  first  aide-de-camp,  I  can  follow  and 
serve  your  Majesty  in  the  field,  and  be  near  you  in  time 
of  peace.' 

After  a  moment's  silence  the  king  came  up  to  me,  and 
taking  my  hands,  said  he  was  as  jealous  of  my  military 
reputation  as  I  could  be,  and  would  never  permit  me  to 
leave  the  service,  but  that  for  his  sake  I  must  undertake  to 
arrange  military  affairs  in  the  southern  provinces,  and 
accept  for  the  moment  the  military  command  of  the  ex- 
kingdom  of  the  Two  Sicilies.  I  promised  him  to  do  my 
best,  on  condition  that  the  government  sent  me  men  and 
money  when  I  required  them.  This  condition  was  not 
kept,  as  will  be  seen  hereafter. 

The  king  passed  Christmas  at  Naples,  and  left  for 
Turin  on  the  26th  December.  Soon  afterwards  Prince 
Eugene  of  Carignano  came  as  viceroy,  and  occupied  the 
state  rooms  of  the  royal  palace.  Thanks  to  his  gracious 
manners  and  his  generosity,  he  was  very  popular  at  Naples. 
To  me  he  was  always  kindness  itself,  and  overwhelmed 
my  family,  who  lived  on  the  second  floor  of  the  palace, 
with  attentions.  I  was  so  busy  that,  with  the  exception  of 
state  dinners,  when  my  wife,  as  lady-in-waiting  to  the  late 
queen,  was  asked  to  receive  the  wives  and  daughters  of  the 
guests,  I  declined  all  invitations.  The  Southern  Army, 
«>.,  the  volunteers,  gave  me  plenty  of  work,  and  the  re- 
actionary party  was  busy  in  various  districts  of  the  ex- 
kingdom.     The  country  was  infested  with  armed  bands, 


2o6      AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A    VETERAN 

augmented  by  malcontents  and  men  out  of  work,  led  by 
a  few  officers  of  the  Bourbon  army,  or  by  discredited 
Garibaldians,  such  as  La  Monaco,  who  stirred  up  disorders 
in  Sicily.  Outbreaks  occurred  in  various  places,  and  I  had 
to  divide  and  sub-divide  my  troops  in  order  to  protect  the 
inhabitants.  After  the  departure  of  the  king  things  grew 
worse.  The  greater  part  of  the  troops  were  engaged  at 
the  siege  at  Gaeta,  or  in  Sicily  under  Brignone,  and  I 
applied  in  vain  to  the  ministry  for  reinforcements.  The 
brigands  were  so  numerous,  and  so  many  were  shot,  that 
orders  came  from  Turin  to  execute  only  the  chiefs.  My 
officers,  realising  the  necessity  of  capital  punishment  in  cer- 
tain districts  where  it  was  only  possible  to  govern  by  fear, 
telegraphed,  '  four,  five,  six  armed  brigand  chiefs  arrested  in 
such  a  place ' ;  to  which  I  replied,  '  Shoot  them.'  After  a 
time  Fanti,  struck  by  the  extraordinary  number  of  chiefs, 
sent  orders  that  they  were  not  to  be  shot,  but  taken 
prisoners.  Prisons  and  barracks  were  soon  insufficient 
to  contain  the  prisoners ;  and,  after  the  capture  of 
Gaeta,  the  disbanded  Bourbon  soldiers  and  the  volun- 
teers, who  had  spent  what  money  they  had,  joined  the 
rapscallions. 

Disorder  was  also  rife  in  Naples.  Mazzini  made  his 
appearance,  wearing  the  Garibaldian  uniform,  and  sent  his 
agents  into  the  provinces  to  stir  up  discontent  in  the  army. 
This  I  knew  from  a  letter  to  the  police  which  was  com- 
municated to  me.  He  was  carefully  watched,  and  soon 
afterwards  disappeared  for  the  second  time.  Then  the 
government,  in  spite  of  my  reiterated  demands,  did  not 
send  money  from  Turin  for  the  monthly  pay  of  the  troops 
and  the  Garibaldian  volunteers,  who  made  a  row  outside 
the  gates  of  the  Treasury.  I  wrote  to  Fanti  and  to  Cavour 
for  money  and  reinforcements,  without  any  result ;  the  only 
consolation  I  had  was  that  the  disgust  of  the  Prince  of 
Carignano   equalled    my   own.      He  threatened  to  return 


BRIGANDAGE  AND  DISORDER  207 

to  Turin  and  let  them  give  the  vice-royalty  to  anyone 
who  would  accept  it  At  last  I  had  the  following  letter 
from  Cavour  in  January: — 

'Dear  La  Rocca, — .  .  .  After  some  trouble,  I  have 
at  last  induced  Fanti  to  send  you  a  brigade.  I  hope  they 
will  embark  on  the  frigate  which  is  expected  from  Naples ; 
make  the  most  of  them.  I  must  beg,  however,  that  you 
will  not  leave  Sicily  without  help  in  case  of  any  serious 
disturbances  in  the  island. 

'  After  much  negotiation  I  have  come  to  an  understand- 
ing with  the  emperor.  The  whole  fleet  will  leave  on  the 
19th,  and  on  the  20th  we  shall  be  free  to  attack  the  place 
(Gaeta)  from  land  and  sea. 

'  I  am  not  afraid  of  the  reactionary  movement,  or  of  the 
help  afibrded  to  it  by  France.  I  am  used  to  a  double 
current  from  Paris.  Rondon,  the  minister  of  war,  is  most 
useful  to  us.  His  orders  must  come  from  a  Bourbon 
source.  But,  once  the  fleet  is  withdrawn,  I  hope  the  be- 
haviour of  the  French  soldiers  will  undergo  a  change.  In 
any  case,  it  is  useless  to  worry  about  it. 

'  Fanti  has  also  decided  to  summon  the  Garibaldian 
and  Neapolitan  officers  here.  I  shall  do  all  I  can  to  assist 
you  in  this  arduous  matter.  I  know  I  can  rely  on  your 
firmness  and  shrewdness.  The  prince  is  well  disposed  ; 
Nigra  ^  is  clever.  Working  well  together,  you  will  succeed 
in  restoring  order  in  the  kingdom '  (of  Naples).  '  It  will  be 
an  immense  service  rendered  to  Italy.  .  .  .     Adieu. 

'C.  Cavour.' 2 

^  Secretary  of  State  to  the  Prince  of  Carignano,  who  was  beginning  his 
brilliant  diplomatic  career  under  the  auspices  of  Cavour. — Translator's  Note. 

'  '  Caro  La  Rocca, — .  .  .  Ho  deciso  non  senza  fatica  Fanti  a  spedirti 
una  brigata.  Spero  imbarcarla  sulle  fregate  che  aspetto  da  Napoli ;  fanne 
buon  pro'.  Ti  raccommando  per6,  in  caso  di  disordini  gravi  in  Sicilia,  di 
non  lasciare  I'isola  senza  aiuti. 

'  Dopo  infinite  pratiche  sono  giunto  ad  intendennela  con  I'lmperatore. 


2o8      AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A    VETERAN 

The  brigade  sent  by  Fanti  was  that  of  Pisa,  small  and 
badly  commanded.  Fortunately  troops  were  not  needed 
in  Sicily ;  but  I  considered  the  reinforcement  insufficient, 
and  asked  in  vain  for  others.  My  discontent  was  aug- 
mented by  the  conduct  of  the  minister  of  war,  who 
suspended  General  Pinelli  and  sent  General  Mezzacapo 
in  his  stead,  without  consulting  me,  and  made  him  inde- 
pendent of  my  command.  I  sent  in  my  resignation,  but 
the  king  refused  to  accept  it.  The  temporary  suspension 
of  Pinelli,  who  was  doing  excellent  service  against  the 
brigand  and  Papal  troops  in  the  Abruzzi,  was  rendered 
necessary  by  a  violent  proclamation  he  published  after 
falling  into  a  trap  laid  by  the  Communal  Council  of  a 
reactionary  village.  He  actually  called  the  Head  of  the 
Church,  '  that  clerical  vampire,  who  for  centuries  has  sucked 
the  blood  of  our  mother  with  his  foul  lips.' 

On  the  14th  February  our  troops  entered  Gaeta.  Early 
in  the  same  month  there  was  a  revolt  among  the  convicts 
employed  in  the  harbour.  This  was  to  be  expected, 
because,  after  the  departure  of  the  Bourbons,  secret  agents 
were  at  work  among  the  lowest  classes  of  the  population. 
The  police  were  not  as  good  as  they  ought  to  have  been, 
and  we  were  unwillingly  obliged  to  inculcate  respect  for 
law  and  morality  by  force. 


Tutta  la  flotta  partira  il  19,  ed  il  20  saremo  liberi  di  attaccare  la  piazza  per 
terra  e  per  mare. 

'  Non  mi  spavento  della  reazione  e  degli  aiuti  che  la  Francia  le  da.  Sono 
avvezzo  a  veder  partire  da  Parigi  una  doppia  corrente.  II  Ministro  della 
guerra  Rondon  ci  e  utilissimo.  Le  sue  istruzioni  debbono  essere  borboniane. 
Spero  pero  che,  ritirata  la  flotta,  il  contegno  dei  soldati  francesi  mutera ;  ad 
ogni  modo  non  bisogna  darsene  soverchio  pensiero. 

'  Fanti  si  e  pure  deciso  a  chiamare  qui  i  Garibaldini  ufficiali  e  gli  ufficiali 
Napoletani.  Faccio  quanto  sta  in  me  per  agevolarvi  I'ardua  impresa.  So  di 
poter  fare  assegnamento  suUa  tua  fermezza  e  il  tuo  accorgimento.  II  Principe 
e  ben  disposto  ;  Nigra  ha  ingegno.  Tutti  insieme  camminando  d'accordo 
riuscirete  a  ristabilire  Tordine  nel  regno.  Sara  un  servizio  immenso  reso 
airitalia.  .  .  .     Addio.  C.  Cavour.' 


BRIBER  Y  AND  CORR  UP  TION  209 

In  the  middle  and  upper  classes  the  sense  of  morality 
was  exceedingly  low.  During  the  dictatorship  of  Garibaldi 
abuses  had  crept  in  which  had  to  be  reformed.  Under  the 
pretext  of  lodging  soldiers,  every  disposable  house  was 
occupied.  Some  of  the  Garibaldians  had  taken  possession 
of  rooms,  not  only  for  themselves  and  their  families,  but 
for  letting.  I  appointed  a  commission  of  inquiry  of  some 
of  our  generals  with  those  of  the  Garibaldian  army,  and 
of  the  members  of  the  Communal  Council  who  had  been 
charged  with  distributing  the  billets.  It  was  difficult  to 
make  them  understand  that  this  abuse  must  be  put  a 
stop  to ;  but  at  last  it  was  decided  that  in  thirty  days 
the  houses  were  to  be  cleared  of  all  who  had  no  right  to 
be  there. 

Some  days  later  I  received  a  visit  from  one  of  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Council.  With  perfect  self-possession  he  said, 
'  Listen,  dear  friend.  My  brother  occupies  several  rooms 
in  such  a  street  Poor  fellow  !  he  has  such  a  lot  of  children 
that  he  is  forced  to  turn  his  hand  to  anything  in  order  to 
gain  a  living;  he  only  keeps  two  rooms  for  himself,  and  he 
lets  the  others.  Can  you  not  allow  him  to  keep  them  ? 
Though  he  is  my  brother,  I  cannot  do  much  for  him. 
What  do  you  say?'  I  looked  at  him  with  astonishment. 
He  bore  a  great  name,  and  he  was  rich,  or,  at  all  events, 
well  off,  yet  he  coolly  proposed  not  only  to  disobey  the 
very  decision  he  had  voted,  but  to  do  a  dishonest  action 
in  favour  of  his  brother.  Other  people  were  waiting  to 
see  me,  so  I  rose,  saying,  '  Your  brother  and  his  tenants 
must  be  out  before  the  end  of  the  month  ;  and  remember 
that  you  have  said  nothing  and  that  I  have  heard  nothing.' 
He  was  rather  taken  aback,  but  left  the  room. 

Another  day  a  rich  contractor  came  to  beg  me  to 
recommend  him  for  an  important  government  contract 
I  told  him  to  leave  his  proposal  for  examination,  be- 
cause   I   was  busy.     As   he   was   going   I  saw   him   put 

O 


2IO      AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A    VETERAN 

something  on  the  mantelpiece  —  evidently  a  rouleau 
of  gold. 

'  I  beg  your  pardon,'  said  I  ;  '  what  is  that  ? '  '  Only  a 
small  offering,'  he  quietly  replied,  '  for  the  person  who 
assists  me  in  this  matter,'  '  I'd  throw  you  and  your 
money  out  of  the  window,'  I  exclaimed  ;  *  but  I  see  you 
don't  know  what  morality  means.  Take  what  belongs 
to  you;  go,  and  don't  come  back.' 

A  gentleman,  well  known  in  science  and  politics,  called 
on  me  and  said, '  My  son  is  an  officer,  and  has  been  at  the 
siege  of  Gaeta.  Now,  they  say,  he  is  to  be  sent  to  that  of 
Messina.  Not  to  mention  the  fatigue,  there  will  also  be 
danger,  and  he  would  rather  go  to  some  garrison  town.' 
'  My  dear  sir,'  I  replied,  '  our  officers  ask  to  be  sent  on 
active  service.  I  will  not  do  your  son  the  injustice  to  think 
he  would  act  otherwise,  or  imagine  that  you  care  more  for 
his  life  than  his  honour.  We  will  forget  that  anything  has 
been  said,  and  your  young  officer  will  go  wherever  he  is 
ordered.' 

I  got  very  tired  of  this  sort  of  thing,  and  of  writing 
over  and  over  again  for  troops  and  for  remittances. 
Instead  of  accepting  my  resignation,  Fanti  proposed  that 
I  should  exchange  the  command  of  the  5th  corps  cTarmee 
for  that  of  the  6th,  which  was  to  be  sent  to  the  southern 
provinces,  and  retain  the  position  of  commander-in-chief 
at  Naples,  in  obedience  to  the  wishes  of  the  Prince  of 
Carignano.  This  I  refused ;  and  after  waiting  in  vain 
during  the  month  of  April  for  my  successor  to  be  ap- 
pointed, I  seized  the  pretext  of  an  important  discussion 
in  the  Senate  early  in  May,  took  leave  of  the  prince  (who  I 
knew  intended  to  follow  my  example),  and  returned  to 
Turin. 

The  kingdom  of  Italy  had  only  been  constituted  a  few 
months  before  by  Parliamentary  law,  a  natural  consequence 
of  the  plebiscite^  and  Victor  Emanuel  had  at  once  been 


DEA  TH  OF  CA  VOUR  21 1 

acknowledged  as  King  of  Italy  by  England.  Save  Austria, 
the  Pope  and  the  ex-princes,  no  other  power  had  protested, 
and  evidently  were  inclined  to  follow  the  example  of 
England.  Internal  affairs,  however,  were  not  so  promising. 
Stormy  scenes  occurred  in  the  Chambers.  While  La  Mar- 
mora, in  bitter  language,  opposed  the  new  organisation  of 
the  army.  Garibaldi  flung  insults  at  Cavour,  and  Cialdini 
violently,  but  justly,  criticised  Garibaldi.  I  then  saw  that 
these  internal  difficulties  had  prevented  the  government 
from  giving  more  attention  to  the  affairs  of  the  new 
provinces.  That  terrible  struggle  between  Cavour 
and  Garibaldi,  the  two  greatest  factors  after  Victor 
Emanuel  of  Italian  unity,  was  at  its  height.  The  death 
of  Cavour,  which  took  place  forty  days  later,  was  attri- 
buted by  many  to  the  mental  sufferings  he  underwent  at 
that  time.  I  saw  Cavour  a  few  days  after  I  arrived  at 
Turin,  and  related  my  impressions  of  the  Neapolitan  pro- 
vinces. Struck  by  the  gravity  of  the  report,  he  summoned 
me  to  a  council  of  ministers  to  repeat  publicly  what  I  had 
told  him  in  private. 

On  the  6th  June  all  Italy  went  into  mourning  for  the 
death  of  her  great  son.  He  was,  and  he  will  remain,  one 
of  the  greatest  figures  of  the  nineteenth  century — if  not 
the  greatest.  Without  Cavour  it  would  have  taken  cen- 
turies to  form  a  united  Italy  ;  thanks  to  him,  it  was  done 
in  little  more  than  twenty  years.  The  prologue  was  in 
1848,  the  epilogue  in  1870,  after  the  death  of  the  great 
minister. 


CHAPTER    XIX 
1861-1864 

I  go  to  Berlin  as  Ambassador  Extraordinary — Coronation  of  William  I. — 
The  Earl  of  Clarendon  offers  his  Services — Napoleon  demands  a 
Guarantee. 

The  Prince  of  Carignano  left  Naples  for  Turin  soon  after 
I  did.  Count  Ponzo  di  S.  Martino  was  named  in  his 
stead  as  viceroy,  and  General  Durando  assumed  the 
military  command.  He  had  no  more  luck  than  myself, 
and,  after  begging  in  vain  for  more  troops  and  more  money, 
sent  in  his  resignation  after  a  few  months'  service. 

The  5th  corps  d'armee  had  meanwhile  been  sent  to 
Tuscany,  and  I  gladly  resumed  the  command.  In  the 
autumn,  just  as  my  wife  was  preparing  for  the  move  to 
Florence,  the  king  sent  for  me,  and  offered  me  the  first 
military  command  (Turin).  General  Hector  de  Sonnaz 
wished  to  go  to  Florence,  and  I  was  only  too  glad  to 
return  to  Turin,  and  thus  be  enabled  to  continue  my 
service  of  first  aide-de-camp  to  the  king.  Victor  Emanuel 
had  kept  his  promise  and  fulfilled  my  dearest  wishes. 

Some  weeks  later  I  was  sent  as  ambassador  extraor- 
dinary to  Berlin,  to  attend  the  coronation  of  William  I., 
who  succeeded  his  brother  King  Frederick  William  IV. 
of  Prussia.     All  the   great  European  powers  were  to  be 

212 


/  GO  AS  AMBASSADOR  EXTRAORDINARY  213 

represented,  and  although  the  new  kingdom  of  Italy  had 
not  been  recognised  by  Prussia,  the  friendly  relations 
which  had  always  existed  between  that  State  and  Sar- 
dinia made  it  advisable  to  send  an  ambassador  to  the 
coronation. 

The  mission  was  not  so  difficult  or  so  important  as  that 
of  1858  to  the  Emperor  Napoleon  III. ;  still,  La  Marmora 
having  failed  several  months  before  to  obtain  the  recogni- 
tion by  Prussia  of  the  new  kingdom  of  Italy,  it  was  not 
quite  plain  sailing.  My  business  was  to  do  nothing  and 
say  nothing  about  any  recognition,  but  quietly  to  assume 
the  position,  not  of  ambassador  of  the  King  of  Sardinia, 
but  of  the  King  of  Italy. 

In  the  second  week  of  October  I  left  with  a  numerous 
suite  of  officers,  all  clever,  handsome,  well-bred  young 
fellows,  who  did  their  country  credit.  The  day  after  my 
arrival  at  Berlin  I  presented  my  credentials  to  Baron  von 
Bemsdorf,  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs.  They  were  made 
out  for  the  ambassador  extraordinary  from  King  Victor 
Emanuel  to  His  Majesty  King  William  I.  Glancing  at  them, 
the  minister  said,  'Why  His  Majesty  King  William,  and 
not  His  Majesty  the  King  of  Prussia  ? '  Feigning  ignorance, 
I  answered,  '  If  this  form  does  not  please  your  excellency, 
I  will  at  once  send  to-  Turin  and  have  it  changed  into 
ambassador  from  the  King  of  Italy  to  His  Majesty  the  King 
of  Prussia.'  '  No,  no  ;  it  does  not  matter,'  he  said.  Bems- 
dorf did  not  seem  altogether  satisfied,  but  made  the  best  of 
it,  and  was  very  courteous.  Two  days  afterwards  I  was 
received  by  King  William  I.  with  the  same  ceremonial  as 
the  French  and  English  ambassadors.  He  greeted  me 
personally  with  great  cordiality,  having  known  me  in  1850. 
The  coronation  took  place  a  few  days  later,  and  I 
summoned  the  little  diplomacy  I  possessed  to  my  aid  to 
avoid  making  some  false  step,  as  the  ex-King  of  Naples  had 
not  recalled  his  ambassador,  who  was  invited  with  the  other 


214      AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A    VETERAN 

members  of  the  diplomatic  corps  in  Berlin,  and,  poor 
fellow !  cut  a  sorry  figure. 

A  special  train,  with  a  reserved  carriage  marked  by  a 
card  for  each  ambassador,  was  to  take  us  down  to  Koenigs- 
berg.  Walking  down  the  platform  with  my  suite,  I  saw  a 
card  with  '  His  Excellency  the  Ambassador  of  the  King 
of  Sardinia,'  attached  to  a  carriage.  We  passed  without 
noticing  it,  and  meeting  a  court  official,  I  said,  '  Excuse  me, 
but  I  cannot  find  the  carriage  for  the  ambassador  of  His 
Majesty  King  Victor  Emanuel.'  The  official  disappeared, 
and  soon  returned  and  conducted  me  to  where  I  had  seen 
the  first  card,  now  changed  for  one  bearing  the  words,  '  His 
Excellency  the  Ambassador  of  His  Majesty  King  Victor 
Emanuel.' 

The  coronation  took  place  in  the  chapel  of  the  castle 
of  Kcenigsberg,  where  Frederick  I.,  the  great  Elector  of 
Brandenburg  crowned  himself  King  of  Prussia  in  1701. 
Long,  wide  galleries,  leading  to  the  chapel,  flanked  the  huge 
halls,  and  in  one  of  them  were  ranged  the  foreign  princes, 
ambassadors,  ministers  and  distinguished  visitors.  The 
king,  who  walked  under  a  canopy,  was  dressed  in  red  velvet 
embroidered  in  gold,  and  a  long  ermine  mantle ;  in  one 
hand  he  held  the  sceptre,  in  the  other  a  globe  surmounted 
by  a  gold  cross,  exactly  like  the  pictures  of  Charlemagne 
and  the  old  German  emperors.  After  him  walked 
numerous  German  princes  and  knights  in  rich  robes,  and 
officers  in  every  kind  of  uniform.  The  picturesque  proces- 
sion passed  slowly  before  us,  and  people  generally  thought 
it  very  impressive;  I  confess  it  appeared  to  me  rather 
theatrical. 

I  was  treated  by  everybody  on  the  same  footing  as  the 
ambassadors  of  France,  England,  and  other  great  powers, 
to  the  annoyance  of  the  Austrian  ambassador,  that  same 
prince  of  Liechtenstein  who  took  such  a  dislike  to  me  in 
Paris  in  1858.     It  was  common  talk  among  the  members 


CORONATION  OF  WILLIAM  I,  215 

of  the  diplomatic  body  that  the  other  powers  would  soon 
follow  the  example  of  France  and  England,  and  officially 
recognise  the  new  kingdom  of  Italy.  Some  of  them  offered 
me  their  services  with  the  Prussian  Court,  with  a  view  to 
accelerate  the  recognition ;  especially  Lord  Clarendon, 
Ambassador  of  Her  Britannic  Majesty,  Queen  Victoria. 
But  I  had  no  authority  from  Ricasoli  ^  to  accept  any  such 
offers;    on    the    contrary,   absolute   neutrality   had    been 

*  Ifgive  some  of  the  telegrams  bearing  on  this  question. 

'  Berlin,  13  Octobrt  6i« 
'■A.  S.  E.  Ricasoli. 

'Lord  Clarendon  m'a  offert  ses  services  demandant  s'il  pouvait  ^tre 
agr^able  au  Roi  et  gouvernement  de  parler  a  Bernsdorf  et  Roi  lui  m6me,  si 
occasion  se  pr^sentait,  pour  reconnaissance  n6tre  royaume,  ou  du  moins  con- 
na!tre  raison  du  retard.  Jen  'ai  pas  laiss^  gnorer  que  ne  puis  faire  politique, 
ni  prononcer  mot  reconnaissance  avec  Gouvernement  prussien,  mais  pas  cru 
devoir  refuser  bons  offices ;  je  pense  que  Clarendon  veut  pas  ceder  k  Mac- 
Mahon  honneur  obtenir  notre  reconnaissance.  En  tout  cas  ma  politique  est 
profiler  des  circonstances  et  bon  vouloir  Clarendon.  J'ai  pr^venu  Comte  de 
Launay  de  tout  ced.  Della  Rocca.' 

'  14  Octobre  61. 
*  R^ponse  Ricasoli : 

*  Nous  avons  promis  au  Gouvernement  prussien  de  ne  faire  aucune  d-marche 
pour  reconnaissance  k  I'occasion  du  couronnement,  par  consequent  si  Claren- 
don fait  ouverture,  doit  etre  bien  entendu  sera  sans  aucune  participation  de  V. 
E.  Veuillez  causer  avec  De  Launay.  Ricasoli.' 

'  KCBN'IGSBERG,  \^  Ociobre. 

*Je  fais  trop  mauvaise  figure  ne  pouvant  r^pondre  k  certain es  questions, 
Veuillez  me  tenir  au  courant  politique,  desire  savoir  si  G^n^ral  La  Marmora  est 
nomm6  i  Naples.  Re9u  d^p^che,  ne  me  suio  'amais  ecart^  vos  instructions  ; 
toutes  questions  etiquette  marchent  d'une  mani^re  satisfaisante  jusqu'  k 
present  Della  Rocca.' 

'  R^ponse  Ricasoli : 

*  Je  r^ponds  sans  delai  h.  votre  t^l^amme  d'hier.  La  Marmora  vient 
d'accepter  commandement  des  troupes  k  Naples  et  temporairement  les 
fonctions  de  Pr^fet  de  la  province  Naples.  L'abolition  de  la  Lieutenance  de 
Naples  et  du  gouvernement  de  la  Toscane  est  decid^e,  et  le  decret  relatif  sera 
public  prochainement  avec  la  loi  de  decentralisation  administrative.  Les 
choses  i  Naples  marchent  assez  bien,  et  j'esp^re  marcheront  mieux.' 


2i6      AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A    VETERAN 

imposed  upon  me.  A  few  months  afterwards,  Prussia, 
Russia,  Belgium  and  Portugal  recognised  the  new  kingdom. 

I  only  alluded  to  it  once.  A  new  Catholic  church  was 
consecrated  with  great  pomp  while  I  was  at  Berlin,  and 
everyone  had  been  invited  except  the  Ambassador  of  King 
Victor  Emanuel.  I  was  dining  at  court  that  night,  and 
King  William,  raising  his  voice,  asked  me,  across  the  table, 
if  the  ceremony  had  been  a  striking  one,  and  whether  there 
were  many  spectators.  Answering,  so  that  everyone  might 
hear,  I  said,  '  I  don't  know,  your  Majesty.  I  was  at  the 
hospital,  where  there  are  several  Italians  I  was  charged 
to  assist  by  the  King  of  Italy.' 

The  leading  personalities  then  in  Berlin  were  the 
English  and  French  ambassadors.  The  latter  had  been 
allowed  a  million  for  his  expenses,  the  empress  had  lent 
some  of  her  jewels  to  the  Mardchale  MacMahon,  and  work- 
men had  been  sent  from  Paris  to  decorate  the  French 
Legation,  and  turn  the  courtyard  into  a  huge  ballroom. 
Clarendon  ridiculed  such  extravagance  as  pertaining  to  a 
parvenu,  and  neither  he  nor  the  rich  Duke  of  Ossuna 
imitated  it. 

On  the  termination  of  my  mission  I  returned  to  Turin, 
and  was  able  to  pass  a  few  weeks  at  Luserna  with  my  wife 
and  little  girls.  The  first  three  years  of  the  new  kingdom 
of  Italy  were  among  the  happiest  and  most  fortunate  of 
my  life ;   I  wish  I  could  say  the  same  for  my  country. 

When  in  i860  Cavour  returned  to  power,  he  induced 
Napoleon  to  relinquish  his  idea  of  a  congress  for  settling 
the  so-called  Italian  question,  and  persuaded  him  to 
consent  to  our  annexation  of  the  Duchies  and  the 
Legations  after  a  pUbiscite.  This  was  paid  for  by  the 
cession  of  the  two  frontier  provinces,  Nice  and  Savoy. 
But  after  the  death  of  Cavour  the  emperor  drew  back,  and 
the  negotiations  relating  to  the  recall  of  the  French  troops 
from  Rome  were  dropped.     Matters  went  pretty  smoothly 


NAPOLEON  DEMANDS  A  GUARANTEE    217 

in  northern  and  central  Italy,  but  in  the  southern 
provinces  our  representatives  were  incessantly  being 
changed  without  contenting  either  the  population  or  the 
government. 

In  spite  of  his  hesitating  policy,  the  emperor  was 
faithful  to  Victor  Emanuel,  and  sent  a  fleet  to  salute  him 
at  Naples,  when  he  passed  through  from  the  inauguration 
of  the  railway  between  Pescara  and  Foggia.  Victor 
Emanuel  went  on  board  the  admiral's  vessel,  and  was 
received  with  enthusiasm  by  the  French  sailors.  Rejoicings 
at  Naples  were  cut  short  by  his  sudden  departure.  He  was 
recalled  to  the  capital  by  the  events  which  preceded  the 
sad  affair  of  Aspromonte.  Home  politics  were  upset. 
Rattazzi,  who  had  succeeded  Ricasoli,  fell,  and  poor  Farini, 
a  shadow  of  his  former  self,  was  called  to  form  a  new 
ministry.  After  a  few  weeks  he  was  forced  to  resign  the 
presidency  to  Minghetti.  Ministers  changed,  but  the 
difficulties,  chiefly  caused  by  the  presence  of  a  French 
garrison  in  Rome,  remained.  Without  demanding  any 
guarantee,  the  emperor,  trusting  in  Cavour's  political 
sagacity,  had  promised  him  that  in  1861  it  should  be 
withdrawn.  But  Napoleon  had  no  faith  in  his  successors  ; 
he  feared  arousing  the  enmity  of  the  Catholic  powers,  who 
wished  to  keep  the  Pope  at  Rome,  and  he  insisted  on  some 
pledge  or  guarantee  that  Rome  should  not  be  wrested 
from  the  Sovereign  Pontiff.  Hitherto  none  had  been 
found  which  seemed  calculated  to  assure  him  against  the 
machinations  of  the  revolutionary  parties.  At  last,  in  the 
summer  of  1864,  a  way  out  of  the  difficulty  was  suggested 
by  an  Italian  relation  of  the  emperor,  and  Turin  was 
called  upon  to  make  the  sacrifice.  Turin  would  have 
gladly  made  it  had  it  been  asked  for  the  good  of  Italy,  but 
it  was  torn  from  her  by  treachery  and  force.  As  I  was 
intimately  mixed  up,  not  in  the  conspiracy  (against  Turin), 
but  in  its  consequences,  I  must  explain  what  occurred  after 


2i8      AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A    VETERAN 

the  so-called  Convention  of  September.  The  negotiations, 
which  had  been  begun  in  June  by  the  Minghetti  ministry, 
were  continued  by  Visconti-Venosta,  through  the  agency 
of  Menabrea,  who  went  several  times  to  see  the  emperor ; 
finally  the  Convention  was  signed  in  Paris  on  the  15th 
September  1864.  The  important  article  was  the  removal 
of  the  capital  from  Turin.  Outside  government  circles 
nothing  was  known  in  Turin  till  the  20th,  the  day  after  a 
council  of  generals  was  held,  under  the  presidency  of  the 
Prince  of  Carignano.  This  council  was  simply  a  farce, 
held  in  order  to  be  able  to  tell  the  Chambers  that  the 
generals  had  been  consulted  as  to  the  strategical  ad- 
vantage of  transferring  the  capital.  The  prince  declared 
that  he  was  only  authorised  to  ask  us  to  name  which  city 
with  the  exception  of  Rome  and  Naples,  was  most  fitted  to 
be  the  capital  of  Italy,  The  question  was  put  first  to  our 
doyen,  General  Hector  de  Sonnaz,  who  tried  to  couple  his 
answer  with  certain  objections.  Prince  Eugene  at  once 
stopped  him,  saying,  '  I  can  listen  to  no  comments  and 
no  appreciations.  I  can  only  receive  the  name  of  the  city 
which  strategically  in  your  opinion  is  most  suited  for  a 
capital.'  We  agreed  that,  strategically  speaking,  the  best 
capital,  that  is  the  easiest  to  defend,  was  Florence,  This 
sufficed  for  telling  the  Chambers  that  the  generals  had 
unanimously  indicated  Florence  as  the  future  capital  of 
Italy.  The  Convention  had  been  signed  some  days,  and 
the  king  had  already  suggested  Florence,  because  it  lay 
on  the  road  to  Rome,  which  he  did  not  intend  to  renounce. 
Victor  Emanuel  was  not  easy  to  persuade ;  he  often 
combated  the  ideas  of  his  ministers,  and  occasionally 
insisted  on  carrying  out  his  own.  But  once  convinced 
(Cavour  generally  succeeded  in  convincing  him),  he  frankly 
accepted  what  he  considered  his  duty,  and  never  wasted 
time  in  vain  words  of  regret. 


CHAPTER    XX 
1864 

Riots  in  Turin — Police  fire  on  the  People — '  Rome  or  Death ' — I  invite  Ming- 
hetti  to  resign — La  Marmora  Prime  Minister — Ricasoli  appeals  to  the 
Patriotism  of  the  Piedmontese  Deputies. 

The  negotiations  for  the  Convention  had  been  conducted 
with  such  absolute  secrecy  that,  on  the  19th  September, 
when  the  generals  met,  the  public  suspected  nothing. 
Vague  reports  circulated  next  day,  but  the  news  was 
only  definitely  known  when  published  in  the  ministerial 
papers,  the  Opinione,  theSlanipa  and  the  Gazzettadi  Torino, 
on  the  2 1  St.  The  Stampa  and  the  Opinione  made  no  com- 
ment, but  the  Gazzetta  accompanied  the  announcement 
with  hurried  words,  containing  veiled  irony  and  covert 
threats  against  the  people  of  Turin.  Demonstrations 
were  immediately  made  in  front  of  the  ministries  to 
the  cry  of '  Down  with  the  ministers  ! '  '  Rome  or  death  !' 
Rioting  also  took  place  near  the  office  of  the  Gazzetta 
di  Torino. 

Nearly  the  whole  garrison  had  been  sent,  by  ministerial 
orders,  to  Cigliano,  beyond  S.  Maurizio,  to  take  part  in 
some  sham  battles.  On  the  20th  I  reviewed  the  troops, 
and  sent  them  off,  and  next  day,  at  dawn,  left  Turin  with 
my  staff  to  assist  at  the  manoeuvres.  Returning  at  dusk, 
I  saw  Major  Corvetto,  of  the  staff,  at  the  station  of 
Chivasso,  evidently  waiting  for  me.     I  made  him  get  into 

219 


220      AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A    VETERAN 

my  carriage,  and  he  then  told  me  what  had  happened 
in  Turin,  and  also  gave  me  an  official  letter,  which  had 
reached  my  headquarters  after  three  in  the  afternoon. 
The  ministers  were  evidently  alarmed,  as  they  had 
called  a  Cabinet  council  at  the  first  news  of  the  riot- 
ing, which,  after  all,  was  not  very  serious.  No  one 
knew  better  than  themselves  that  the  commander  of 
the  territorial  troops  was  absent,  yet  the  letter  said 
'  Your  Excellency  is  requested  to  commission  Colonel 
Formenti,  commanding  the  ist  Legion  of  Gendarmes, 
to  take  command  of  the  troops  necessary  for  the 
repression  of  present  disorders,  or  of  those  which  may 
occur  to-night  or  to-morrow.'  The  handwriting  was 
unknown  to  me,  but  the  minister  of  war.  General 
Delia  Rovere,  had  added  these  lines :  '  When  the  terri- 
torial commander  arrives,  he  will  take  whatever  steps 
he  considers  best. — The  MINISTER  OF  WAR.'  I  reached 
Turin  between  nine  and  ten  at  night  and  was 
at  once  informed  that  an  excited  crowd  was  going 
down  Via  Nuova,  towards  Piazza  Castello,  which  was 
occupied  by  young,  untrained  gendarmes.  Police,  known 
by  their  accent  not  to  be  Piedmontese,  were  stationed  at 
the  corner  of  every  street ;  they  were  Milanese  or  Nea- 
politans, and  instead  of  calming  the  populace,  seemed  to 
excite  them. 

I  sent  one  of  my  aides-de-camp  back  to  Cigliano  to 
order  the  troops  to  return,  and  then  walked  to  the  ministry 
of  war.  With  the  exception  of  Piazza  Castello,  Via  Nuova 
and  part  of  Via  del  Po,  the  city  was  perfectly  tranquil. 
After  waiting  more  than  an  hour,  I  was  leaving  the  war 
office,  when  Delia  Rovere  arrived  and  told  me  what  had 
just  happened.  Piazza  Castello  had  been  invaded  by  a 
mob  from  Piazza  San  Carlo,  furious  with  the  gendarmes 
and  the  police,  who  had  hit  the  people  with  the  flat  of  their 
swords  to  make  them  disperse.     A  shot  from  some  un- 


RIOTS  IN  TURIN  221 

known  hand,  followed  by  a  second,  was  taken  as  a  signal 
by  the  gendarmes  to  fire  a  volley.  Over  fifty  people  fell 
dead,  wounded,  or  senseless  from  fright,  and  in  an  instant 
the  square  was  deserted.  Delia  Rovere  expected  more 
serious  rioting  next  day,  and  ordered  me  to  accelerate  the 
return  of  the  troops  from  the  Camp  of  Instruction.  He 
told  me  nothing  about  the  cabinet  Council  held  that  day. 
Afterwards  the  ministers  Minghetti  and  Peruzzi  said  that 
it  had  been  decided  to  unite  the  civil  and  military  powers 
under  my  command.  This  is  very  improbable,  as  no 
alarming  riots  had  taken  place  ;  indeed,  I  should  say  there 
never  was  any  occasion  for  alarm.  The  number  of  idle 
lookers-on  largely  exceeded  the  rioters,  and  would  have 
been  easily  dispersed  by  the  usual  bugle  call  without  using 
firearms. 

Leaving  Delia  Rovere,  I  went  to  headquarters  to  send 
off  the  orders  and  prepare  for  the  morrow,  and  then  to  the 
minister  of  the  interior  to  inform  him  of  my  arrangements. 
I  found  the  corridor  of  the  Home  Office  guarded  by 
gendarmes,  and  the  ministers,  with  one  or  two  exceptions, 
in  a  state  of  excitement  and  anxiety,  which  astonished  me. 
I  told  Peruzzi  (minister  of  the  interior)  that  six  thousand 
men  would  arrive  from  Cigliano  early  in  the  morning,  to 
be  followed  before  noon  by  others,  and  made  some  sug- 
gestions for  tranquillising  the  population.  It  was  agreed 
between  the  ministers  of  the  interior,  of  war,  and  myself  that 
as  soon  as  the  troops  arrived  they  should  patrol  the  streets. 

Early  in  the  morning  the  troops  were  there ;  but  I 
waited  in  vain  for  the  police  delegates,  without  whom  the 
patrols  could  not  legally  act.  At  last  they  arrived,  and 
soon  afterwards  the  police  magistrate,  Chiapusso,  sent  to 
ask  for  troops  to  protect  the  vicinity  of  Piazza  San  Carlo. 
I  went  to  the  Home  Office,  and,  among  other  things,  asked 
Peruzzi  if  the  National  Guard  was  to  be  employed  together 
with  the  troops.    He  said, '  Certainly  not ;  the  whole  service 


222      AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A   VETERAN 

would  be  confided  to  the  regular  troops.'  At  mid -day  I 
heard,  to  my  astonishment,  that  the  National  Guard  had 
just  been  called  out.  The  truth  is,  the  ministers  had  lost 
their  heads.  Meanwhile,  a  mob  had  collected  in  Piazza 
San  Carlo,  throwing  stones  at  the  office  windows  of  the 
Gazzetta  di  Torino,  and  shouting, '  Down  with  the  Gazzetta  ! 
Down  with  the  traitorous  ministers !  Rome  or  death ! ' 
Chiapusso,  misled  by  the  exaggerated  reports  of  an  agent, 
sent  a  small  force  of  gendarmes  and  police,  who  were 
received  with  hisses  and  abuse.  The  bugle  note  of  warn- 
ing, calling  the  people  to  disperse,  was  sounded,  but  the 
row  prevented  those  at  any  distance  from  hearing ;  so  the 
doors  of  the  police  office  were  flung  open,  forty  young 
gendarme  recruits  rushed  out,  broke  through  the  line  of 
infantry,  and  threw  themselves  on  the  crowd.  A  shot  was 
heard,  then  another,  and  the  troops,  thinking  they  were 
attacked,  fired.  Owing  to  the  unfortunate  manner  in 
which  they  had  been  stationed  (by  Chiapusso's  orders),  at 
the  corners  of  the  square,  they  shot,  not  only  people  in  the 
crowd,  but  their  own  comrades.  The  colonel  and  the 
ensign  of  the  17th  regiment  were  severely  wounded,  and 
several  soldiers  killed  and  wounded. 

I  found  the  ministers  in  a  state  of  great  agitation — so 
alarmed  that  Minghetti  actually  proposed  to  declare 
martial  law.  I  could  not  refrain  from  combating  this 
with  considerable  warmth,  and  then  assured  them,  if  they 
would  withdraw  magistrate,  police  and  gendarmes,  and 
entrust  the  maintenance  of  order  to  the  troops,  tranquillity 
would  soon  be  restored.  When  Delia  Revere,  who  had 
been  ill  and  was  lying  on  the  sofa,  heard  me  oppose  the 
proposal  of  Minghetti,  he  jumped  up,  exclaiming,  '  La 
Rocca  is  right !  I,  minister  of  war,  am  absolutely  against 
any  such  measure.'  '  But  you  have  sent  in  your  resigna- 
tion,' observed  Minghetti,  ironically.  '  Quite  true,  on 
account  of  ill-health ;  but,  seeing  the  dangerous  condition 


DISMISSAL  OF  MINGHETTI  223 

of  things,  I  have  withdrawn  my  resignation.  I  remain  at 
my  post,  and  such  material  and  moral  injury  shall  not  be 
done  to  Turin  with  my  consent.  She  has  been  sorely 
tried,  and  will  have  more  to  bear ! ' 

On  the  night  of  the  22d,  or  rather  at  two  in  the  morn- 
ing of  the  23d,  I  returned  home,  and  thought  it  my  duty 
to  draw  up  a  report  of  what  had  happened  for  His  Majesty. 
Contrary  to  my  usual  habit,  I  ventured  to  add  that, 
in  my  opinion,  he  ought  to  dismiss  the  present  Cabinet. 
My  messenger  crossed  Count  Castiglione,  who  brought  me 
a  letter  from  the  king,  stating  his  intention  of  dismissing 
the  ministry,  but  directing  me  to  consult  first  with  the 
Prince  of  Carignano.  If,  as  was  most  probable,  the  prince 
approved,  I  was  ordered  to  go  to  the  prime  minister, 
and  invite  him  and  his  colleagues  to  send  in  their  resig- 
nation. 

The  Prince  of  Carignano  agreed  that  the  sooner  the 
ministers  resigned  the  better.  So  I  went  to  Minghetti, 
with  whom  was  Peruzzi,  and  delivered  my  message.  Min- 
ghetti angrily  refused  to  accept  verbal  orders,  and  tele- 
graphed to  Sommariva  for  an  order  signed  by  the  king. 
An  hour  later  the  answer  came,  but  he  did  not  show  it  to 
me.  Sneering  ironically,  as  when  he  spoke  to  Delia  Rovere, 
he  said, '  We  resign,  and  hand  over  all  civil  and  military 
powers  to  you.  Now,  see  whether  you  can  tranquillise  the 
people  and  prevent  fresh  disturbances.' 

I  could  not  refrain  from  saying,  '  Rest  assured  there 
will  be  none,  save,  perhaps,  a  slight  demonstration  in  an 
hour  or  so — but  of  a  different  kind.' 

'I  understand,  of  course,'  replied  Minghetti,  'demon- 
strations of  joy  for  our  fall.' 

From  the  ministry  I  went  to  Hotel  Feeder  to  see  La 
Marmora,  who  had  just  arrived  from  Switzerland,  to  give 
him  an  order  from  the  king  to  form  a  Cabinet.  He  had 
been  absent  during  the  negotiations  for  the  Convention, 


224      AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A    VETERAN 

of  which  he  disapproved,  and  brusquely  said,  '  Yes,  yes ; 
follies  are  committed,  and  then  I  am  charged  to  remedy 
them.'  In  spite  of  his  reluctance,  however,  he  undertook 
the  task,  and  secured  the  co-operation  of  Giovanni  Lanza, 
respected  and  esteemed  by  every  Piedmontese. 

During  the  day  (23d)  numerous  detachments  of  infantry 
traversed  the  city,  which  was  perfectly  tranquil  in  every 
direction.  I  had  confined  the  gendarmes  to  their  barracks, 
sent  the  extra  police  out  of  Turin,  and  Chiapussoto  pursue 
his  avocation  in  another  city.  I  ordered  the  theatres  to 
be  reopened  on  the  25th,  which  diminished  the  crowd  in 
the  cafes,  and  the  city  soon  resumed  its  usual  aspect. 
There  was  a  slight  effervescence  on  the  day  (24th  October) 
of  the  opening  of  the  Chambers,  but  chiefly  in  the  clubs 
and  cafes.  The  truth  is,  the  Piedmontese  were  profoundly 
irritated.  The  so-called  pledge,  which  had  not  been  de- 
manded by  Napoleon  of  Cavour,  when  in  1861  the  latter 
stipulated  the  withdrawal  of  the  French  troops  from  Rome, 
was  now  to  be  dearly  paid  by  the  people  of  Turin.  They 
had  been  ready — nay,  anxious — to  make  any  sacrifice  for 
the  union  of  Italy,  with  Rome  as  capital,  ever  since  the  day 
when  Camillo  Cavour  summoned  the  Parliament  in  the 
small  Piedmontese  capital  to  proclaim  that  Rome  must 
be  the  great  capital  of  the  new  kingdom  of  Italy.  But  now 
that  our  going  to  Rome  seemed  almost  hopeless,  the  Pied- 
montese were  furious,  and  insisted  that  the  national 
programme,  according  to  the  policy  of  Cavour,  should  be 
carried  out.  In  vain  we  endeavoured  to  convince  them 
that  from  Florence  we  should  proceed  to  Rome ;  in  vain 
Victor  Emanuel  exclaimed,  '  Florence  is  but  a  stage  on 
the  way ;  to  Rome  we  shall  go.' 

The  discussions  on  the  law  for  the  transfer  of  the 
capital  lasted  all  through  November  and  part  of  December. 
In  spite  of  violent,  but  useless,  opposition,  the  king,  having 
already,  by  virtue  of  the  power  given  him  by  the  Constitu- 


APPEALS  TO  PIEDMONTESE  DEPUTIES   225 

tion,  signed  the  Convention  ;  the  law  passed  by  a  great 
majority  in  the  Chambers,  and  also  in  the  Senate,  although 
opposed  by  several  leading  men,  particularly  by  Massimo 
D'Azeglio. 

Excitement  increased  in  Turin  as  the  day  approached 
for  the  opening  of  Parliament.  The  Turinese  naturally 
resented  the  decapitalisation  of  their  city  without  any 
apparent  gain  to  Italy.  Several  deputies  wanted  to  put 
the  ministers,  who  had  proposed  and  signed  the  Conven- 
tion, on  their  trial  for  high  treason,  as  having  acted  in 
contravention  of  the  national  vote,  expressed  and  sanc- 
tioned in   1 86 1  by  the  Parliament. 

The  situation  was  difficult  and  involved,  and  discord 
reigned  between  Italians.  The  patriot  Bettino  Ricasoli 
resolved  to  try  and  put  an  end  to  such  a  condition  of 
things.  He  inscribed  his  name  first  on  the  list  of  intend- 
ing speakers,  and  made  an  eloquent  speech  in  favour 
of  concord  and  brotherly  love  which  ought  to  unite  the 
representatives  of  the  various  Italian  provinces.  He 
appealed  to  the  Piedmontese  deputies  to  set  the  ex- 
ample, and  add  yet  another  sacrifice  to  the  many  made 
for  the  unity  of  Italy.  His  words  touched  all  hearts, 
and  carried  the  day ;  enmity  and  rancour  were,  if  not 
forgotten,  at  least  momentarily  stifled  in  a  wave  of 
patriotism. 

I  soon  saw  that  the  ex-ministers  and  their  partisans 
could  not  forgive  the  accusations  made  against  them  by 
the  Turinese ;  and  also  that  they  erroneously  believed  that  I 
had  induced  the  king  to  dismiss  them  on  the  23d  Sep- 
tember, and  intended  that  I  should  suffer  for  it.  They 
discovered,  what  no  one  had  suspected  during  the  sixteen 
years  the  Constitution  had  been  in  force,  that  it  was 
unconstitutional  for  one  man  to  hold  the  offices  of 
chief  aide-de-camp  to  the  king  and  commander  of  any 
considerable  force,   such   as   an    army  corps.      Although 

P 


226      AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A    VETERAN 

this  was  something  very  like  an  insult  to  the  most 
constitutional  of  kings,  friends  of  the  fallen  ministry 
found  influential  people  to  listen  to  them,  the  more  so 
that  La  Marmora,  President  of  the  Council,  was  on 
their  side. 


CHAPTER    XXI 

1865 

The  Mob  insults  the  King's  Guests — The  King  leaves  for  Florence — 
Closer  Alliance  with  Prussia. 

On  the  first  of  the  year  1865  the  king,  according  to  old 
usage,  went  in  state  to  the  theatre,  and  was  very  warmly 
received,  in  spite  of  the  discontent  still  existing  among  all 
classes  about  the  transfer  of  the  capital.  This  discontent 
was  manifested  by  a  small  demonstration  on  the  night  of 
the  first  Court  ball,  the  30th  January.  A  crowd  assembled 
at  the  palace  gates,  and  as  the  carriages  passed  hisses  and 
shouts  of  '  Down  with  Florence  as  capital !  Long  live 
Rome  ! '  were  raised.  Stones  were  thrown  at  the  carriage 
windows,  while  the  National  Guard  looked  stolidly  on. 

I  was  standing  with  His  Majesty  at  a  window  of  the 
palace  when  the  disturbance  began,  but  there  was  no  great 
crowd,  and  neither  of  us  thought  there  was  any  danger.  I 
begged  the  king  to  return  to  the  ballroom,  and  went  down 
into  the  square.  After  seeing  the  last  carriage  enter  the 
palace  gates,  I  followed  and  told  the  king  everything  was 
quieter. 

I  was  even  more  struck  by  the  emptiness  of  the  ball- 
room than  by  the  row  in  the  street.  Many  guests  had  not 
come,  and  most  of  the   ladies   had   been  frightened  and 

227 


228      AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A    VETERAN 

returned  home.  The  wives  of  the  high  Court  officials  were 
represented  by  my  wife  and  the  old  Marchioness  Spinola, 
a  very  small,  thin  woman,  who  always  dressed  in  the 
fashions  of  1830,  a  tight  and  short  gown,  which  looked 
very  odd  among  the  crinolines  and  sweeping  skirts.  It 
was  said  that  she  never  discarded  her  old  dresses,  had  not 
bought  a  new  one  since  the  death  of  her  husband,  and 
wore  her  old  ones  by  turns  at  the  Court  dinners  and  balls. 
Anyhow,  she  made  such  a  contrast  to  my  wife  that  the 
king,  in  spite  of  his  annoyance,  was  much  amused. 

Next  day  the  papers  were  filled  with  exaggerated 
descriptions  of  the  demonstration,  and  some  of  the 
ministers  succeeded  in  representing  the  affair  to  the 
king  in  such  a  way  as  to  give  it  considerable  political 
importance.  The  syndic  of  Turin,  Marquis  di  Rora, 
was  also  blamed  for  not  going  with  the  municipal 
authorities  to  present  the  excuses  of  the  citizens  of  Turin, 
and  beg  the  king  to  pardon  the  disgraceful  scenes  of  the 
30th  January.  There  was  so  much  talk  and  fuss  that  the 
king  lost  all  patience  and  decided  to  leave  at  once  for 
Florence.  He  was  enthusiastically  cheered  during  the 
journey,  and  received  with  every  sign  of  love  and 
gratitude. 

I  must  now  revert  to  my  own  experiences  during  the 
early  days  of  1865,  certainly  among  the  saddest  in  my  life. 
On  the  last  of  January  and  the  ist  of  February  the  king 
was  worried  and  preoccupied.  On  the  2d  I  was  detained  all 
day  at  my  office  and  did  not  see  him,  so  he  sent  Castiglione 
late  in  the  evening  to  my  house  with  a  message.  The 
ministers  and  some  other  persons  had  so  effectually  suc- 
ceeded in  rousing  the  anger  of  the  king  against  the 
Turinese,  and  against  their  syndic,  for  not  having  offered 
any  apology  for  the  occurrences  of  the  30th,  that  he  had 
resolved  to  leave  Turin  next  day  for  Florence.  '  The  king 
imagines,'  added  Castiglione,  after  a  pause,  *  that  you  are 


THE  KING  LEA  VES  FOR  FLORENCE     229 

as  much  disgusted  as  he  is  by  all  that  has  happened,  and 
will  have  no  objection  to  throw  up  your  command  here 
and  follow  him  to  Florence.' 

I  was  so  taken  aback  by  these  words,  of  which  I  at 
once  saw  the  hidden  meaning,  that  I  remained  silent  for 
a  moment.  I  then  said,  '  I  am  most  grateful  to  His 
Majesty  for  wishing  me  to  accompany  him,  but  I  cannot 
resign  my  command ;  if  I  am  dismissed,  the  dishonour  will 
be  unbearable,  as  people  would  suppose  that  I  had  a  hand 
in  the  slaughter  of  September,  and  in  the  recent  disorders. 
I  know  there  is  the  rumour  that  I  am  to  lose  one  of  my 
appointments,  and,  however  painful  it  will  be  for  me  to  leave 
the  king,  after  passing  twenty-five  years  in  almost  daily 
intercourse  with  him,  I  shall  resign  the  post  of  first  aide-de- 
camp to  His  Majesty.' 

Castiglione  assured  me  that  the  king  knew  perfectly 
well  that  no  blame  attached  to  me,  but  since  the  question 
had  been  raised,  and  the  two  appointments  had  been 
declared  incompatible,  the  king  thought  I  might  retain 
the  post  of  chief  aide-de-camp  and  follow  him  to  Florence. 
My  cousin  tried  hard,  probably  by  the  king's  orders,  to  gild 
the  pill,  but  it  was  too  bitter  a  one  for  me  to  swallow. 
La  Marmora,  in  proposing  these  measures,  had  acted  as 
I  should  not  have  done  towards  my  worst  enemy.  In 
spite  of  what  Castiglione  said,  I  gathered  that  I  was  to 
be  deprived  of  the  command  of  the  army  corps  of  the 
department  of  Turin,  and  resolved  to  do  my  utmost  to  retain 
it.  I  therefore  sent  in  my  resignation  as  first  aide-de-camp 
to  His  Majesty,  fully  determined  to  demand  satisfaction  of 
La  Marmora  if  the  command  was  taken  from  me.  I  wrote 
to  the  king  to  thank  him  for  his  constant  kindness,  and 
said  that,  though  most  painful  to  me  to  resign  a  post  I  had 
held  for  twenty-five  years,  my  military  honour  demanded 
that  at  this  moment  I  should  prefer  the  command  of  an 
army  corps  to  any  other  position.     The  king  was  already 


230      AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A   VETERAN 

at  Florence,  so  I  sent  my  letter  to  my  brother  Frederick, 
who  was  on  duty  there,  to  give  to  His  Majesty.  Getting 
no  answer,  and  no  news  from  my  brother  or  from  Castig- 
lione,  I  sent  in  my  resignation  to  La  Marmora,  who,  as 
president  of  the  Council,  had  accompanied  the  king  to 
Florence,  adding  that  I  should  discard  my  uniform  in  order 
to  be  free  to  demand  satisfaction  for  the  unmerited  affront 
received  at  his  hands.  The  letter  had  just  left  when  a 
telegram  came  from  my  brother,  calling  me  to  Florence. 
At  the  same  time  my  wife  received  a  letter  from 
Castiglione,  written  by  order  of  the  king,  to  say  that 
though,  for  political  reasons,  I  could  not  be  left  in  com- 
mand of  the  Turin  district,  he  had  arranged  with  La 
Marmora  that  I  was  to  be  named  to  the  military  command 
in  the  new  capital.  This  would  enable  me,  even  if  I 
resigned  my  post  of  first  aide-de-camp,  to  be  about  the 
king's  person  as  before. 

Victor  Emanuel  received  me  most  cordially  and  kindly 
and  described  how  furious  my  letter  had  made  La  Mar- 
mora ;  but  he  could  not  deny  that  all  the  trouble  had  been 
caused  by  my  dear  cousin  Alphonse,  for  His  Majesty  knew 
better  than  myself  how  and  why  he  disliked  me.  The  king 
tried  to  prove  that  the  military  command  of  a  district  was 
a  political  post,  but  could  not  help  laughing  when  I  ex- 
claimed, '  Since  when  ?  Only  since  I  have  held  the  post, 
and  General  Alphonse  La  Marmora  has  been  president  of 
the  council ! '  He  then  added  that  he  had  induced  La 
Marmora  to  promise  not  to  answer  my  challenge  by  word 
of  mouth  or  by  letter,  and  that  he  hoped  that  I  would  show 
the  same  deference  to  his  wishes,  and  meet  La  Marmora  as 
though  nothing  had  occurred  between  us.  Touched  by  the 
kindness  of  His  Majesty,  I  promised  to  avoid  all  scandal. 
A  few  days  later  I  accompanied  him  to  S.  Rossore,  near 
Pisa,  where  a  deputation  from  Turin  brought  a  petition, 
signed  by  many  thousand  Piedmontese,  entreating  Victor 


CLOSER  ALLIANCE  WITH  PRUSSIA      231 

Emanuel  to  return  to  his  old  capital.  The  syndic,  Rora, 
had  already  been  to  Florence  with  an  address  which  the 
ministers  rejected.  The  king,  after  some  severe  words  of 
censure,  resumed  his  habitual  indulgent  kindliness,  and 
dismissed  Rora  with  a  promise  that  he  would  spend  part 
of  the  spring  in  Turin. 

Poor  General  Fanti  died  early  in  April,  and  I  must  do 
La  Marmora  the  justice  to  say  that  he  at  once  fixed  upon 
me  as  his  successor  to  the  military  command  of  the  capital. 
But  the  king,  knowing  how  susceptible  I  was  about  my 
military  honour,  insisted  on  my  being  reinstated  in  my  old 
command  of  Turin,  thus  giving  me  another  proof  of  his 
benevolence.  I  believe  it  was  also  good  policy,  as  he  thus 
showed  the  people  of  Turin  that  he  had  found  out  they 
had  been  calumniated  and  was  determined  to  give  satis- 
faction to  everyone. 

We  passed  the  winter  of  1865  between  Turin  and 
Florence,  where  the  king  had  given  us  a  nice  apartment  in 
an  annex  of  the  Pitti  Palace.  The  question  of  Schleswig- 
Holstein  was  being  hotly  discussed  in  all  Europe,  and 
threatened  to  be  a  cause  for  war  between  Austria  and 
Prussia.  Italian  politicians  took  advantage  of  this  state 
of  things  to  draw  the  bonds  of  our  alliance  with  Prussia 
closer,  who,  by  using  our  troops  against  Austria,  would  give 
us  the  chance  of  obtaining  the  Venetian  provinces. 

La  Marmora,  as  president  of  the  council,  was  negotiat- 
ing the  alliance.  At  Florence  the  king  spoke  to  me  about 
it,  convinced  that  it  would  lead  to  the  fulfilment  of  his  one 
desire  in  life — the  independence  and  unity  of  Italy.  He 
talked  of  the  hoped-for  war  with  Austria,  referring  fre- 
quently to  the  events  of  '48,  '49  and  '60,  as  though  it  was 
sure  that  I  was  again  to  be  his  companion  in  this  new  war. 
I  listened,  but  said  to  myself,  war  there  will  be,  but  they 
will  not  let  me  be  near  the  king  as  of  old.  In  1859  Victor 
Emanuel  could  impose  his  will  on  La  Marmora,  Minister  of 


232      AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A    VETERAN 

War,  and  choose  his  own  chief  of  the  staff.  But  in  1 866  La 
Marmora  was  president  of  the  Council,  and  for  six  months 
had  been  treating  this  alliance.  The  king  certainly  could 
not  give  to  anyone  the  post  the  minister  had  reserved  for 
himself,  and  least  of  all  to  me. 


CHAPTER    XXII 

1866  (first  part) 

False  Statements  of  the  Austrian  Cabinet — Mobilisation  of  our  Army — A 
Newspaper  Correspondent — Declaration  of  War  by  Prussia  and  Italy 
— We  cross  the  Mincio. 

For  a  short  time  it  seemed  as  though  all  fear  of  war  had 
passed,  so  my  wife  and  daughters  left  for  London,  never 
doubting  that  they  would  find  me  at  Turin  on  their  return. 
About  the  20th  April  the  Austrian  government,  challenged 
by  several  of  the  European  Cabinets,  declared  that  all  arma- 
ments on  the  Italian  confines  had  been  countermanded,  and 
all  bellicose  ideas  abandoned.  This  was  trumpeted  abroad 
in  the  papers ;  but  troops  were  meanwhile  being  rapidly 
concentrated  on  our  frontier.  Called  upon  for  an  explana- 
tion, the  Austrian  Cabinet,  as  a  justification  of  this  sudden 
change,  gave  two  absolutely  false  reasons  ;  one,  that  Italy 
was  bringing  numerous  troops  up  from  the  south,  and 
massing  them  at  Bologna  and  Piacenza,  with  a  view  to  the 
invasion  of  the  Venetian  provinces;  the  other,  that  Gari- 
baldi, with  his  volunteers,  had  already  entered  Venetian 
territory,  near  Rovigo.  The  so-called  '  numerous  troops ' 
were  two  cavalry  regiments,  which  had  been  sent  to  the 
Neapolitan  provinces  in  1864  to  repress  brigandage,  and 
were  now  returning  to  their  garrisons.     Garibaldi  had  not 

233 


234      AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A    VETERAN 

moved  from  Caprera,  and  no  Garibaldian  had  entered  the 
Venetian  provinces.  But,  on  the  strength  of  these  inven- 
tions, Austria  sent  large  contingents  of  troops  from 
Hungary  and  Bohemia  to  our  frontiers  ;  and  La  Marmora, 
finding  his  denials  were  not  believed,  determined  to  justify 
the  assertions  of  Austria,  and  ordered  the  immediate 
mobilisation  of  our  army. 

I  was  rather  afraid  that,  with  La  Marmora  at  the  head 
of  the  government,  I  might  have  been  left  in  command  at 
Turin,  and  not  sent  to  the  front.  But  once  more  Victor 
Emanuel  came  to  my  aid  and  gave  me  the  command  of 
the  3d  corps. 

Early  in  May  the  army  was  ready  to  take  the  field — 
four  army  corps,  twenty  divisions,  in  all  about  two  hundred 
thousand  men.  Durando  commanded  the  ist  corps,  formed 
of  the  four  divisions  Cerale,  Pianell,  Brignone  and  Sirtori ; 
General  Cucchiari  commanded  the  2d,  formed  of  the  divi- 
sions Mignano,  Cosenz,  Angioletti  and  Longoni;  the  3d 
(mine)  consisted  of  the  divisions  Bixio,  Cugia,  Cadorna 
and  Govone,  but  Cadorna's  division  was  shortly  changed, 
by  the  king's  desire,  for  that  of  Prince  Humbert.  The  4th 
corps,  under  Cialdini,  consisted  of  sometimes  eight,  some- 
times ten  divisions,  and  was  called  the  army  of  the  Po. 
The  other  three  corps  were  commanded  by  the  king,  with 
La  Marmora  as  chief  of  the  staff,  and  was  called  the  army 
of  the  Mincio. 

As  soon  as  I  arrived  at  Piacenza  I  called  on  General 
Pettiti,  the  alter  ego  of  La  Marmora,  and,  of  course,  we 
began  talking  about  the  organisation  of  the  army.  I  could 
not  refrain  from  expressing  my  disapprobation  of  thus 
dividing  our  forces  into  two  armies,  independent  of  each 
other. 

'  You  are  right  in  theory,'  replied  Pettiti ;  '  but  our  case 
is  an  exception.  The  Austrians,  engaged  in  Bohemia, 
cannot  throw  a  large  army  into  Italy,  so  either  of  our  two 


OUR  ARMY  TAKES  THE  FIELD  235 

armies  will  be  equal  to  the  enemy  wherever  he  may  attack 
us — on  the  Mincio  or  on  the  Po.'  '  Very  well,'  said  I ; '  but 
remember  the  old  proverb,  "  Union  is  strength."  It  seems 
to  me  the  best  tactics  would  be  to  keep  together,  await  an 
attack,  and  repel  it  with  our  whole  force.' 

We  parted  mutually  unconvinced,  but  I  felt  certain  of 
the  inevitable  consequences  of  so  fatal  an  error. 

Either  just  before,  or  immediately  after,  my  visit  to  Pettiti, 
the  king  came  to  Piacenza  to  review  my  troops  and  to  ask 
me  to  take  the  i6th  division,  commanded  by  Prince  Hum- 
bert, into  my  corps.  Cialdini,  to  whose  corps  the  i6th  had 
been  destined,  absolutely  refused  to  have  a  royal  prince 
under  his  orders,  alleging  that  his  presence  was  prejudicial 
to  the  liberty  of  action  of  the  commander.  I  was  far  too 
devoted  to  Victor  Emanuel  to  refuse,  and  knowing  that 
Prince  Humbert  was  brave  like  his  father,  and  eager  to 
show  himself  obedient  to  military  discipline,  I  welcomed 
him  heartily,  and  trusted  that  the  good  star  of  the  House 
of  Savoy  might  preserve  him  from  any  mishap. 

During  his  sojourn  at  Piacenza  the  king  asked  me  if  all 
essential  preparations  for  the  campaign  were  made,  and 
whether  all  would  be  ready  in  a  few  days.  '  Not  at  all,'  I 
answered.  '  We  are  no  longer  in  the  good  old  days  of  Fanti, 
when  eight  or  ten  divisions  could  be  placed  under  arms  in 
a  week,  thoroughly  equipped.'  '  Oh  ! '  said  the  king,  '  that 
is  just  what  Cialdini  said  yesterday  at  Bologna.  He  said 
it  was  all  the  fault  of  Pettinengo.'  '  The  evil  existed  before 
he  became  a  minister,'  I  replied, '  and  he  has  not  yet  had 
time  to  mend  matters.'  But  from  that  day  I  felt  sure  that 
Pettinengo  would  be  made  the  scapegoat  for  the  mistakes 
of  others.  I  well  remember  the  king  saying  to  me  during 
that  visit,  with  all  his  old  kindliness,  that  he  already  felt 
the  want  of  my  services  as  chief  of  the  staff,  and  added  that 
he  would  have  a  cipher  sent,  as  he  desired  to  correspond 
directly  with  me,  and  have  my  candid  opinion  on  every- 


236      AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A    VETERAN 

thing.  His  secretary,  Castiglione,  sent  me  not  one,  but  two, 
ciphers ;  but  I  only  made  use  of  them  once,  for  after  1864 
politics,  i.e.,  the  ministers,  always  stood  between  Victor 
Emanuel  and  myself. 

After  reviewing  and  superintending  the  instruction  of 
the  recruits  at  Piacenza  during  incessant  and  heavy  rain 
I  had  an  acute  return  of  my  old  pain  in  the  shoulder, 
and  told  the  military  doctor,  Cerale,  to  bleed  me.  The 
doctor  was  horrified,  and  protested  that  he  could  not,  and 
would  not,  obey  me.  '  Doctor,'  I  said, '  you  are  a  major,  I 
am  a  general.  The  advantage  of  being  a  superior  is  pre- 
cisely that  one  can  command  ;  therefore,  get  to  work  at 
once.'  *  But,  general,  I  have  not  got  my  instruments.'  '  Go 
and  get  them,  and  make  haste.'  Cerale  went  most  unwill- 
ingly, and  returned  in  an  hour  with  all  that  was  necessary. 
He  visited  me  again  in  the  evening,  and  found  me  much 
better  ;  but  being  still  in  pain,  I  made  him  take  off  the 
bandages  and  let  more  blood.  I  slept  well,  and,  though 
weak  and  pale,  after  two  days'  convalescence  rode  to  Cre- 
mona to  preside  over  the  council  for  the  national  defence. 

On  my  return  Signor  Petruccelli  della  Gattina,  corre- 
spondent of  the  Journal  des  Debats,  called  upon  me  with  a 
letter  from  my  friend  General  Trochu.  I  received  him 
coldly,  and  had  it  not  been  for  this  letter,  probably  should 
not  have  received  him  at  all.  In  time  of  war  I  have  little 
sympathy  with  these  gentlemen,  who,  for  the  sake  of  send- 
ing a  few  columns  of  news  to  their  papers,  are  capable  of 
altering  truth  in  a  most  dangerous  manner.^ 

1  The  following  are  a  few  extracts  of  Sig.  P.  della  Gattina's  article,  pub- 
lished in  the.  Journal  des  Debats  on  the  6th  June  1866  : — 

•  J'ai  dit  que  le  General  Delia  Rocca  commandait  le  3. me  Corps  d'Armee, 
J'^prouve  un  certain  embarras  ^  parler  du  Marquis  Morozzo  Della  Rocca,  qui 
m'avouait  tant6t  que  s'il  etait  Chef  d'Etat  Major  general  il  empecherait  la 
presse  de  s'entretenir  de  la  guerre.  Je  ne  veux  done  pas  effaroucher  le  silence 
que  ce  General  desire  faire  autour  de  sa  personne,  et  je  me  borne  a  rappeler  ses 
^tats  de  service,  du  reste  fort  eloquents.  .  .  . 


A  NEWSPAPER  CORRESPONDENT       237 

Late  in  April  and  during  May  the  Emperor  Napoleon 
opened  negotiations  for  convening  a  congress,  with  a 
view  to  prevent  the  war  between  Prussia  and  Austria, 
and  also  to  obtain  the  cession  of  Venice  to  Italy  against 
a  large  monetary  compensation.  But  his  attempt  failed, 
the  congress  did  not  meet,  and  the  campaign  was  retarded. 
I  therefore  wrote  to  my  wife,  who  was  determined  to 
return  to  Piedmont,  to  come  and  join  me  at  Piacenza, 
where  I  expected  to  be  for  another  fortnight.  She  left 
London  the  end  of  May  with  our  two  daughters,  and  on 
the  2d  June  arrived  in  Piacenza,  where  I  was  able  to 
lodge  them  comfortably,  and  show  them  various  military 
evolutions,  which  pleased  the  girls.  It  was  reported  that 
Count  Arese  was  going  on  a  mission  to  Paris  to  secure 
the  neutrality  of  France,  and  we  officers  feared  that  some 
diplomatic  arrangement  would  give  Venice  to  Italy  with- 
out the  chance  of  striking  a  blow,  on  condition  that  she 

'  Delia  Rocca  fit  la  campagne  de  1848  comme  Chef  d'Etat  Major  de  la 
Division  de  r^sen-e,  command^e  par  le  Due  de  Savoie  d'alors,  aujourd'hui 
Roi  d'ltaiie.  Cette  Division  prit  une  part  brillante  k  la  campagne,  surtout  k 
Santa  Lucia,  ou  elle  couvrit  la  retraite  et  sauva  I'Arm^e  piemontaise,  en  sou- 
tenant  pendant  une  demie  joum^e  le  choc  de  I'arm^e  de  Radetzky,  Elle  con- 
tribua  aussi  4  la  defense  de  Custoza,  oil  la  d^faite  fut  aussi  glorieuse  que  la 
victoire. 

'  Delia  Rocca  fit  la  campagne  de  1849  comme  G^n^ral  de  Brigade,  ayant  sous 
ses  ordres  les  Colonels  Mollard,  aujourd'hui  G^n^ral  dans  I'Arm^e  fran^aise, 
et  Cialdini,  qui  prise  k  un  haut  degr6  la  capacite  militaire,  le  coup  d'oeil,  la 
science,  I'audace,  au  besoin,  de  son  ancien  G^n^ral,  Dans  la  campagne  de 
1859  Delia  Rocca  fut  ce  que  La  Marmora  est  aujourd'hui.  Chef  d'Etat  Major 
de  I'Armee.  Dans  la  campagne  de  1860-61,  il  commanda  le  f.me  Corps 
d'Arm^e  avec  lequel  il  assiegea  Anc6ne  du  c6t^  droit,  et  prit  ensuit  en  trois 
jours  la  place  de  Capoue.  Apr^s  de  siege  d'Anc6ne,  Delia  Rocca  fut  nomrad 
General  d'Arm^e ;  aprfe  celui  de  Capoue,  il  obtint  la  medaille  d'or  de  la  valeur 
militaire.  En  1859,  le  Roi  lui  avait  donn^  I'ordre  de  I'Annonciade,  qui  est  la 
Toison  d'Or  et  la  Jarreti^re  de  la  dynastie  de  Savoie,  et  il  obtint  le  lendemain 
matin  le  Grand  Cordon  de  la  Legion  d'Honneur,  Delia  Rocca  a  rempli  plus- 
ieurs  missions  k  I'etranger,  et  il  est  S^nateur. 

'  Sa  figure  peu  expansive,  ses  mani^res  aristocratiques,  son  maintien  tout 
anglais,  sa  modestie  qui  le  rend  peu  comunicatif,  font  du  G^n^ral  Delia  Rocca 
un  homme  peu  populaire,  mais  sa  capacity  et  son  experience  ne  sont  mises  en 
doute  par  personne.  .  .  .' 


238      AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A    VETERAN 

retired  from  the  Prussian  alliance.  In  fact,  the  Emperor 
Napoleon,  who  always  wished  us  well,  had  started  the 
idea  of  a  congress  with  this  very  object,  but  owing  to  the 
absurd  pretentions  of  Austria  it  fell  through.  She  de- 
manded that  the  Italian  representatives  were  not  to  men- 
tion Venice,  and  the  Prussians  were  not  to  speak  of  the 
Northern  Duchies.  So  France  withdrew,  and  King 
William,  who  until  then  had  turned  a  deaf  ear  to  the 
warlike  councils  of  Bismarck,  suddenly  resolved  to  vindi- 
cate his  rights  to  Holstein,  acquired  by  the  Treaty  of 
Gastein.  On  June  i6th  Prussia  invaded  the  Duchies. 
I  had  already  received  orders  on  the  9th  to  move  towards 
Chiesi,  and  on  the  loth  my  troops  started  for  Asola. 
Next  day  I  spent  at  Cremona,  where  La  Marmora  pre- 
sided at  a  council  of  war,  to  arrange  the  march  towards 
the  Mincio,  and  decide  whether  or  no  Cremona  should  be 
left  armed.  The  heads  of  the  bridges  were  already 
fortified,  and  it  was  determined  to  leave  them  so  in  case 
a  retreat  upon  that  town  should  be  necessary. 

What  a  miserable  campaign  it  was.  Not  only  for 
what  the  public  knew  and  saw,  but  for  all  that  was  going 
on  under  the  surface,  and  which  only  came  to  light  on 
the  eve  of  our  departure.  Prussia,  as  I  have  said,  declared 
war  on  the  i6th.  Our  government  at  Florence  was  at 
that  time  in  the  throes  of  a  ministerial  crisis,  owing  to  the 
sudden  departure  of  the  president  of  the  Council  to  join 
the  army.  At  that  moment  a  note  reached  Florence  from 
the  Prussian  government,  who,  after  trying  in  vain,  through 
its  agents,  to  combine  a  plan  of  campaign  with  the 
Italian  government,  suddenly  proposed  one  which  de- 
prived our  army  of  every  liberty  of  action,  and  used  it 
almost  entirely  to  the  benefit  of  Prussia.  The  note  was 
sent  first  to  La  Marmora,  who  deemed  it  offensive  and 
unacceptable,  and  having  sent  in  his  resignation,  paid  no 
further  attention  to  the   matter.     Usedom,  the   Prussian 


>f  V  OF  THS  '  ' 

^  UNIVERSITY 

A  PRUSSIAN  NOTE  UNANSWERED      239 

minister  at  Florence,  was  charged  to  present  another 
copy,  which  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  king.  A  reply  at 
that  moment  was  impossible,  owing  to  there  being  no 
ministry  extant ;  so  the  king  named  Jacini  provisionally 
Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs  until  the  arrival  of  Visconti- 
Venosta,  then  our  ambassador  at  Constantinople.  A 
third  copy  was  sent  to  Jacini,  which,  like  all  telegrams 
sent  to  Florence  during  those  days  of  confusion,  remained 
unanswered.  Even  La  Marmora,  in  his  headquarters,  did 
not  succeed  in  obtaining  any  reply  from  the  capital.  On 
the  19th  June  he  telegraphed  to  Jacini,  '  Si  je  ne  regois 
pas  ordre  contraire  du  Roi  demain  j'enverrai  la  declara- 
tion de  guerre  k  Mantoue.'  The  king  himself  telegraphed 
back  immediately,  '  Send  declaration  of  war  to  Austria. 
— Victor  Emanuel.' 

At  six  in  the  morning  of  the  20th  June  Colonel 
Bariola,  assistant  chief  of  the  staff,  sent  a  letter  to  the 
officer  in  command  at  Mantua,  addressed  to  the  Archduke 
Albert,  commander-in-chief  of  the  Austrian  army  in  the 
Venetian  provinces,  to  notify  the  declaration  of  war  from 
Victor  Emanuel  to  the  Emperor  of  Austria.  The  same 
day  I  received  orders  to  advance  oji  Gazzoldo  from  Asola. 
The  so-called  army  of  the  Mincio  was  well  found  and 
ready,  and  we  supposed  Cialdini  to  be  in  the  same  con- 
dition. We  knew  that  the  volunteers  under  Garibaldi 
were  two  or  three  times  more  numerous  than  had  been 
expected,  which,  however  embarrassing  to  the  minister  of 
war,  who  had  to  find  provisions  and  arms,  yet  augured 
well,  and  the  dash  and  enthusiasm  of  all  those  young 
fellows  gave  hopes  of  glorious  deeds  being  accomplished. 
My  own  troops  had  shown  satisfactory  proofs  of  disci- 
pline and  ardour,  I  forgot  the  bad  impressions  and 
presentiments,  and  hoped  that  our  arms  would  be 
victorious. 

On  the  morning  of  the  23d   I   left  Gazzoldo  for  the 


240      AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A    VETERAN 

left  bank  of  the  Mincio.  The  ist  and  3d  army  corps 
(General  Durando's  and  mine)  had  orders  to  cross  the 
river,  while  the  2d  army  corps  (Cucchiari's)  was  to  keep 
watch  on  Mantua,  and  form  a  reserve  for  the  other  two. 
His  right  was  to  extend  from  Goito  to  Curtalone,  his  left 
from  Goito  to  Roverbella  and  Marmirolo. 

On  the  22d  June  the  king  and  La  Marmora  came 
from  Canneto  to  Gazzoldo  to  consult  with  me  about  the 
passage  of  the  Mincio.  They  were  then  convinced,  owing 
to  erroneous  information,  that  the  Austrians,  about  eighty 
thousand  strong,  were  concentrated  beyond  the  Adige 
round  Verona,  and  that  the  Quadrilateral  was  free.  So 
we  were  sent  to  take  up  positions  on  the  heights  to  the 
north,  between  Pastrengo  and  Villafranca.  At  eight  in  the 
morning  of  the  23d  the  divisions  of  the  ist  army  corps 
crossed  the  Mincio — Cerale  by  the  bridge  of  Mozambano, 
Sirtori  by  that  of  Borghetto,  Brignone  at  Molino  di  Volta, 
while  Pianell  remained  to  the  right  in  observation  before 
Peschiera.  Three  of  my  divisions — Bixio,  Prince  Humbert, 
and  Govone — crossed  by  the  bridge  of  Goito ;  the  4th, 
Cugia,  by  a  military  bridge  at  Ferri.  The  division  of  the 
cavalry,  commanded  by  General  De  Sonnaz,  under  the 
immediate  orders  of  the  chief  headquarters,  had  crossed 
the  bridge  of  Goito  before  us. 

After  taking  leave  of  the  king  I  remember  stopping 
on  the  bridge  to  inform  La  Marmora  of  certain  orders  I 
had  issued  to  my  generals ;  for  instance,  to  Bixio  to  place 
his  column  on  the  right  flank,  ready  to  oppose  any  attack 
which  might  be  made  from  Mantua.  La  Marmora 
shrugged  his  shoulders,  and  answered,  '  Oh  no,  it  is  quite 
useless ;  you  had  better  cancel  that  order.'  I  had  not 
time  to  do  so,  for  Bixio  had  only  gone  a  few  steps  when 
a  small  detachment  of  Austrians  were  seen  on  his  right 
flank.  As  these  might  have  been  followed  by  others  I 
held  to  my  own  arrangement. 


CROSSING  THE  MINCIO  241 

Owing  to  various  circumstances  we  were  later  than  we 
had  planned.  Crossing  the  Mincio  took  several  hours, 
and  night  overtook  us  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Goito. 
The  troops  bivouacked  in  the  open,  and  I  and  my  staff 
slept  in  a  cottage  hard  by. 


CHAPTER   XXIII 

THE    DAY    OF    CUSTOZA 

Defective  Reconnaissance — Prince  Humbert  under  Fire — I  search  in  vain  for 
the  Commander-in-Chief — I  am  ordered  to  hold  Villafranca — Our 
Retreat  towards  Goito — La  Marmora  throws  up  His  Command — Our 
Fatal  Mistakes. 

Much  has  been  said  and  written  about  Custoza.  My 
account  is  taken  from  my  notes,  and  touches  chiefly  on 
the  events  in  which  I  took  part.  Unfortunately,  I  did  not 
set  down  the  exact  hours  at  which  various  engagements 
were  fought ;  had  I  done  so  it  might  have  served  to  correct 
many  erroneous  statements. 

At  dawn,  on  the  24th  June,  I  was  on  foot  to  see  my 
divisions  start.  The  sleep  of  the  men  had  been  disturbed 
by  high  wind  and  showers  of  rain,  which,  however,  cooled 
the  stifling  atmosphere  for  a  few  hours.  Towards  noon 
the  heat  was  as  bad  as  ever.  The  march  had  already 
begun,  the  division  of  Prince  Humbert,  taking  the  Rover- 
bella  road  to  the  right,  in  the  direction  of  Villafranca ;  in 
the  centre,  Bixio,  with  his  division,  was  to  occupy  the 
Ganfardine,  not  far  from  Villafranca,  on  the  road  to 
Sommacompagna ;  while  Govone's  division,  in  the  rear, 
formed  the  reserve  on  the  Massimbona  road,  which  led 
to  Pozzo  Moretta.  The  division  of  General  Cugia,  which 
had  crossed  the  Mincio  by  the  military  bridge,  marched 

242 


DEFECTIVE  RECONNAISSANCE  243 

towards  Rosegaferro,  to  join  at  the  foot  of  the  hills  with 
Bixio's  division  on  one  side,  and  the  right  wing  of  the  1st 
army  corps  (Brignone)  on  the  other.  The  brigade  Pra- 
lormo,  consisting  of  the  h'ght  cavalry  of  Saluzzo  and  the 
lancers  of  Foggia,  followed  Bixio.  The  Alessandria  light 
cavalry  were  distributed  among  the  various  divisions,  and 
part  of  them  were  attached  to  my  headquarters. 

The  division  of  cavalry,  commanded  by  General  de 
Sonnaz,  and  under  the  orders  of  the  commander-in-chief, 
had  been  the  first  to  cross  the  bridge  on  the  23d.  Charged 
with  reconnoitring  in  the  Quadrilateral,  they  did  not  go 
beyond  Villafranca,  and  on  the  strength  of  this  the 
general  assured  the  commander-in-chief  that  there  were 
no  Austrians  in  the  Quadrilateral.  This  report,  which, 
unfortunately,  agreed  with  news  received  by  the  intelli- 
gence department,  persuaded  La  Marmora  that  he  could, 
with  impunity,  send  two  army  corps  to  take  up  positions 
on  the  hills  between  Salionze,  Valeggio  and  Sommacam- 
pagna  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  Mincio.  The  order 
of  the  day,  communicated  to  me,  said  simply,  'Your 
Excellency  will  advance  to-morrow  morning  before  four, 
taking  all  due  precautions,  with  your  four  divisions,  and 
place  them  as  you  think  best  between  Villafranca  and 
Sommacampagna.  On  your  right  you  will  join  with  the 
2d  army  corps  at  Roverbella  and  Marmirolo  by  means  of 
the  cavalry  of  the  aforesaid  2d  corps.  The  ist  army 
corps  will  extend  by  Sona  and  S.  Giustina  towards 
Pastrengo,  with  its  headquarters  at  Castelnuovo.  The 
commander  of  the  3d  corps  will  inform  the  chief  head- 
quarters as  soon  as  he  can  of  the  place  he  has  selected  for 
the  headquarters  of  the  3d  corps.'  As  I  rode  with  my 
staff  we  heard  the  roar  of  cannon,  and  putting  our  horses 
to  a  sharp  trot,  we  arrived  just  as  the  Austrian  cavalry  had 
made  its  first  charge  against  the  Parma  brigade.  This  is 
what  had  occurred. 


244      AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A    VETERAN 

The  divisions  of  Bixio  and  Prince  Humbert  were 
advancing  by  two  nearly  parallel  roads — the  i6th  towards 
Villafranca,  the  7th  towards  the  Ganfardine — when  they 
were  informed  that  detachments  of  Austrian  cavalry, 
followed  by  artillery,  were  scouring  the  country  round 
Villafranca.  Both  commanders  sent  out  staff  officers  to 
obtain  news,  and  the  prince  was  assured  that,  though  a 
few  scouts  were  to  be  seen  in  the  direction  of  Calori, 
Villafranca  was  entirely  free.  He  entered  the  town, 
followed  by  the  Parma  brigade,  and  marched  through  it  as 
far  as  the  farm  of  S.  Giovanni.  There  he  halted,  cover- 
ing the  front  and  flanks  of  the  brigade  with  battalions  of 
Bersaglieri,  while  he  sent  back  to  order  the  mixed  brigade 
to  hurry  up  to  his  aid. 

While  getting  the  Parma  brigade  into  line  a  large 
body  of  cavalry  was  seen  in  the  distance — squadrons  of  the 
Emperor's  Hussars  and  of  the  Trani  Uhlans,  with  a  battery 
of  horse  artillery.  One  squadron  came  up  at  a  gallop  to 
within  five  hundred  paces,  but  some  shells  and  canister 
from  the  cannon  stationed  in  the  road,  and  the  hot  fire 
of  the  Bersaglieri  put  them  to  flight.  This  must  have 
been  about  a  quarter  to  seven.  At  that  moment  the  head 
of  the  column  of  Bixio's  division  came  up,  and  he  im- 
mediately sent  his  advanced  guard  to  join  the  i6th  division 
and  cover  Villafranca  on  the  side  of  Sommacampagna, 
whence  the  squadrons  of  Colonel  Pulz  were  advancing. 
After  a  short  struggle  the  latter  launched  his  men  against 
the  troops  of  Prince  Humbert,  upon  which  the  commander 
of  the  Parma  brigade.  General  Ferrero,  immediately  ordered 
the  battalions  to  form  squares  to  resist  cavalry.  Suddenly, 
from  a  dense  covert,  emerged  Hussars  and  Uhlans,  who 
charged  at  full  gallop.  The  prince,  followed  by  some  of 
his  officers,  had  ridden  forward  to  make  sure  of  the  flight 
of  the  first  squadron,  and  was  still  on  the  road,  separated  by 
a  wide  ditch  from  where  the  battalions  of  the  Parma  brigade 


PRINCE  HUMBERT  UNDER  FIRE         245 

were  forming  squares.  He  had  barely  time  to  jump  the 
ditch  and  put  himself,  with  his  staff  and  Ferrero,  in  the 
centre  of  the  first  square  in  order  to  oppose  the  charge  of 
the  Austrian  cavalry.  The  latter  were  soon  thrown  into 
confusion  by  the  fire  from  the  squares,  and  the  furious 
attacks  of  the  Alessandria  light  cavalry.  The  Uhlans 
turned  and  fled.  Some  fell  into  the  deep  ditch  skirting 
the  Verona  road,  others  were  killed  by  the  fire  of  our 
infantry  and  artillery,  and  many  were  made  prisoners.  It 
was  said  that  out  of  six  hundred  hardly  two  hundred 
answered  the  roll-call.  The  heir  to  the  throne  received  his 
baptism  of  fire  bravely,  showing  that  he  inherited  the 
valour  of  his  race.  In  that  first  encounter  he  manifested 
all  the  qualities  of  a  good  soldier — dash  and  ardour  in  the 
first  instance,  coolness  and  firmness  during  action. 

I  arrived  at  Villafranca  as  the  first  attack  ended,  and 
at  once  sent  the  squadron  of  light  cavalry  of  Alessandria, 
which  formed  the  escort  at  my  headquarters,  to  the 
prince. 

The  day  had  begun  favourably  for  the  3d  corps,  but 
badly  for  the  ist.  How  incorrect  was  the  information 
given  to  the  chief  headquarters  as  to  the  movements  of 
the  enemy  may  be  gathered  by  what  happened  to  the 
7th  and  the  i6th  divisions.  During  the  day  and  night 
of  the  23d  the  Austrians  had  occupied  the  heights,  which 
were  the  very  objects  of  our  advance,  and  the  divisions 
of  Durando's  corps  had  suddenly  come  face  to  face  with 
the  enemy.  The  advance  guard  of  the  5th  division  (Sirtori) 
missed  their  way,  and  instead  of  taking  the  country 
road  of  S.  Rocco  and  Palazzuolo,  took  the  high  road  to 
Castelnuovo,  thus  outstripping  the  ist  division  (Cerale), 
of  which  they  became  the  advanced  guard.  The  ist 
division  thus  being  uncovered,  came  upon  the  enemy,  and 
were  unable  to  execute  their  formation  without  confusion. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  left  wing  of  this  division  came 


246      AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A    VETERAN 

unexpectedly  upon  the  Austrians  a  mile  from  OHosi, 
and  was  forced  into  an  engagement,  and  routed  before 
the  other  divisions  were  able  to  render  assistance. 

General  Cerale  was  warned  of  the  presence  of  the 
enemy  after  he  had  started  ;  but,  unaware  of  the  mistakes 
already  committed,  he  determined  to  carry  out  his  orders, 
and  advanced  towards  Castelnuovo,  Seeing  the  heights 
facing  Salionze  occupied,  he  ordered  the  Pisa  brigade  to 
attack,  when  the  commander,  General  Villarey,  was  killed. 
Cerale  was  himself  severely  wounded,  and  the  division, 
overpowered  by  the  ever-increasing  numbers  of  the 
enemy,  retreated   in  confusion  upon  Monzambano. 

The  Forli  brigade,  which  had  advanced  as  far  as  OliosI, 
was  attacked  by  a  strong  force  of  Uhlans  and  infantry,  and 
driven  back  to  Valeggio. 

The  3d  brigade  (Brignone),  which  formed  the  extreme 
right  of  the  ist  corps,  had  advanced  to  within  a  short 
distance  of  my  troops,  on  the  tableland  of  Gherla,  a 
central  point  between  the  plain  and  the  hills.  There  they 
met  La  Marmora.  He  always  rode  out  in  the  early  morn- 
ing, and  had  unexpectedly  found  himself,  with  only  one 
aide-de-camp,  on  the  field  of  battle.  Ignorant  of  the 
enemy's  position,  he  ordered  Brignone  to  attack  the  heights, 
which  he  found  already  occupied  by  the  enemy.  Both 
parties  were  surprised,  and  a  fierce  struggle  ensued  at 
Monte  Torre.  Brignone  commanded  the  Lombard  and 
the  Sardinian  Grenadiers ;  the  latter,  led  by  Prince 
Amadeus,  repulsed  the  Austrians  several  times ;  but 
while  they  received  continuous  reinforcements  our  numbers 
diminished,  owing  to  the  many  killed  and  wounded — 
among  the  latter  the  prince.  These  bad  tidings  were 
brought  to  me  bit  by  bit  by  the  various  officers  I  had 
despatched  to  glean  information ;  so  I  gathered  that  I 
had  better  establish  my  headquarters  provisionally  at  Villa- 
franca,  whence  I  could  prevent  the  enemy's  advance  upon 


SEARCH  FOR  THE  COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF  247 

Valeggio,  and  send  help  where  needed  to  the  troops  engaged 
near  by.  In  obedience  to  orders,  I  sent  one  of  my  officers 
to  Valleggio,  where  I  supposed  the  army  headquarters  to 
be,  to  give  information  of  the  engagement  of  the  7th  and 
loth  divisions,  and  of  the  place  where  I  had  established 
myself  He  returned  in  about  two  hours,  with  his  horse 
quite  knocked  up.  Having  found  no  one  at  Valeggio, 
he  proceeded  to  Cerlungo,  where  nearly  all  the  officers  of 
the  army  headquarters  still  were ;  but  La  Marmora  had 
not  been  seen  since  daybreak,  when  he  rode  off,  without 
leaving  any  orders,  while  the  king  had  mounted  his 
horse  at  the  first  cannon  shot,  and  no  one  knew  where 
he  or  La  Marmora  had  gone  to.  My  aide-de-camp  then 
went  to  Goito,  with  the  same  result.  Unable  to  obtain 
any  information  of  the  movements  of  either  the  king  or 
La  Marmora,  he  galloped  back  to  Villafranca.  During 
the  whole  of  the  24th  June  the  headquarters  of  the 
commander-in-chief  were  non-existent. 

I  sent  aides-de-camp  in  various  directions  to  search  for 
the  king  and  La  Marmora,  and  seeing  that  the  divisions 
Bixio  and  Prince  Humbert  maintained  their  positions  on 
the  Sommacampagna  and  Povegliano  roads,  and  that  for 
the  moment  the  Austrian  cavalry  and  artillery  had  with- 
drawn, I  went  to  congratulate  the  prince  on  his  success- 
ful conduct,  and  then  rode  on  to  find  General  Bixio,  and 
tell  him  that,  after  searching  in  vain  for  the  commander- 
in-chief,  I  considered  it  advisable  to  wait  for  fresh  orders 
before  advancing  towards  Sommacampagna.  I  also 
informed  him  that  a  struggle  was  going  on  at  Monte 
Torre,  in  which  the  left  of  the  ist  corps  was  engaged, 
and  we  arranged  a  diversion  to  endeavour  to  take  the 
enemy  on  the  flank  or  the  rear,  and  liberate  Brignone. 
We  settled,  however,  that  he  should  wait  for  a  positive 
order  from  General  La  Marmora  or  from  me,  and  mean- 
while retain  his  positions,  which  formed  the  extreme  right 


248      AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A   VETERAN 

of  the  long  line  of  the  ist  and  3d  army  corps,  extending 
from  Peschiera  to  Villafranca. 

In  the  meantime,  I  sent  two  squadrons  of  the  Saluzzo 
light  cavalry  and  two  of  the  Foggia  Lancers  to  the  7th 
division,  and  ordered  Cugia  to  join  them,  and  extend  his 
division  towards  Pozzo  Moretta.  He  was  slightly  checked, 
and  the  division  Govone  was  terribly  retarded  by  the 
civil  and  military  transport  which  encumbered  the  roads. 
As  soon  as  I  knew  that  Govone  had  arrived  at  Quaderni, 

I  ordered  him  to  advance  with  the  Alpine  brigade  towards 
the  foot  of  the  hills,  to  unite  with  Cugia's  division,  and  to 
send  the  Pistoza  brigade  to  Villafranca  in  reserve. 

I  had  just  given  these  orders  when  General  La  Mar- 
mora arrived  from  Monte  Torre  between  eight  and  nine 
o'clock.  He  had  heard  firing  at  Villafranca,  and  came  to 
see  what  had  happened,  and  at  the  same  time  to  tell  me 
to  send  help  to  the  3d  division  of  the  ist  corps.  He  was 
in  a  state  of  great  anxiety,  impressed  by  the  imminent 
danger,  and  also  by  having  just  discovered  that  his 
sight  had  deteriorated  so  much  that  he  was  unable,  even 
with  field-glasses,  to  judge  either  of  the  number  or  the 
distance  of  the  enemy's  forces.  He  approved  of  the  choice 
of  Villafranca,  and  ordered  me  to  hold  the  position  at  all 
hazards,  and  at  the  same  time  to  send  what  help  I  could 
to  Monte  Torre.  On  leaving,  La  Marmora  again  bade  me 
not  abandon  Villafranca  until  the  plain  on  that  side  should 
be  clear  of  the  baggage  waggons  and  military  train.  I  did 
not  see  him  all  day,  and  had  no  orders  from  him  after 

II  a.m.  until  6  p.m.,  when  the  retreat  across  the  Mincio 
was  commanded. 

-  La  Marmora  had  hardly  left  when  the  king  arrived, 
also  extremely  anxious,  having  just  seen  Brignone's  troops 
repulsed — almost  put  to  flight — at  Monte  Torre.  I  do  not 
remember  his  first  words,  but  I  know  I  could  not  restrain 
my  indignation  at  the  ignorance  of  the  staff"  concerning 


/  AM  ORDERED  TO  HOLD  VILLAFRANCA    249 

the  positions  of  the  enemy.  Trusting  to  false  information 
that  the  Austrians  were  on  the  other  side  of  the  Adige, 
when  they  were  in  the  Quadrilateral,  they  had  thrown 
our  army  into  the  clutches  of  the  enemy.  I  also  alluded 
to  the  inexpedience  of  the  long  line  extending  from 
Peschiera  to  Villafranca,  and  to  the  lack  of  an  army  head- 
quarters. I  related  how  my  aide-de-camp  had  in  vain 
gone  from  Valeggio  to  Cerlungo,  and  then  across  the 
Mincio  to  Goito,  without  being  able  to  report  the  events 
of  the  morning,  receive  new  orders,  or  make  known  where 
I  had  taken  up  my  position.  My  words  were  bitter  ;  but 
the  king  knew  I  did  not  cast  the  responsibility  of  these 
errors  on  him,  and  he  told  me  how  he  had  been  assured 
that  the  enemy  were  on  the  other  side  of  the  Adige,  and 
how  perplexed  he  had  been  at  finding  that  the  chief  of  the 
staff  had  left  Cerlungo  at  dawn  without  having  arranged 
any  plan  of  attack  with  him,  or  confirmed  the  proposed 
transfer  of  the  army  headquarters  from  Cerlungo  to 
Valeggio.  I  told  His  Majesty  of  the  orders  left  by  La 
Marmora,  and  he  confirmed  them,  bidding  me  hold  the 
positions  until  I  received  other  orders  from  him  or  from 
his  chief  of  the  staff.  He  then  left  for  Valeggio,  where 
he  expected  to  find  La  Marmora  and  the  two  divisions  of 
the  2d  corps  (Cucchiari),  which  were  to  arrive  there  before 
noon.  After  the  departure  of  the  king  an  officer  of 
General  Bixio's  staff  came  to  ask  me  if  the  general  could 
continue  his  march  towards  Sommacampagna  or,  at  any- 
rate,  towards  the  Ganfardine,  whence  the  light  cavalry 
of  the  brigades  Pulz  and  Bujanowich  were  constantly 
attacking  us.  I  was  obliged  to  refuse  his  request,  and 
told  him  of  the  commands  left  by  General  La  Marmora 
and  the  king — that  the  7th  and  i6th  divisions  were  to 
keep  on  the  defensive  and  hold  their  positions  until  further 
orders.  After  1 1  a.m.  General  La  Marmora  sent  me  a 
few  words  by  a  light  cavalry  soldier  from  Monte  Torre, 


250      AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A    VETERAN 

where  he  found  that  the  Lombard  Grenadiers  had  re- 
treated, and  part  of  the  Grenadiers  of  Sardinia  had  given 
way  on  hearing  that  their  commander,  Prince  Amadeus, 
was  wounded.  Only  one  half  stood  firm,  and  heroic- 
ally contested  every  inch  of  ground.  La  Marmora  informed 
me  that  he  had  ordered  General  Cugia  to  go  with  his 
whole  division  to  Monte  Torre  and  Monte  Croce,  and 
General  Govone  to  occupy  Custoza  and  Belvedere  with 
his  artillery  and  the  Alpine  brigade.  He  again  impressed 
upon  me  the  necessity  of  holding  the  positions  at  Villa- 
franca,  and  asked  me  to  send  what  aid  I  could  to  Govone 
at  Custoza,  and  by  word  of  mouth  he  placed  two  regiments 
of  cavalry  at  my  disposal.  Soon  afterwards  I  heard  that 
Cucchiari's  troops,  which  ought  to  have  arrived  at  Valeggio 
before  noon,  were  not  even  in  sight.  As  I  had  sent  every 
man  I  could  spare  without  dangerously  diminishing  my 
own  forces,  I  wrote  to  the  commander  of  the  19th,  General 
Longoni,  who  I  supposed  had  been  at  Roverbella  for  some 
time,  to  tell  him  of  the  straits  Govone  and  Cugia  were  in, 
and  ask  him  to  advance  on  Custoza,  preceded  by  his  artillery. 
I  calculated  the  artillery  ought  to  arrive  at  Custoza  before 
4  p.m.  and  that  Govone  would  be  able  to  hold  out  until 
then.  The  disastrous  news  that  the  ist  corps  had  crossed 
to  the  right  bank  of  the  Mincio  had  just  reached  me, 
and  confirmed  my  determination  to  await  formal  orders 
before  moving  from  my  positions. 

About  half-past  three  Govone  sent  word  that  all  the 
positions  had  been  retaken  from  the  enemy,  whose  guns 
had  not  replied  during  the  past  hour.  But  he  feared 
another  attack,  and  his  ammunition  was  exhausted.  So 
I  sent  orders  to  Cugia  to  divide  his  ammunition  with 
him,  which  was  done.  Shortly  afterwards  Cugia  informed 
me  that  an  ever-increasing  number  of  Austrians  were 
gathering  in  front  of  him  on  the  heights  of  Beretara,  and 
more    troops   were    pouring    out   of    Verona.     His    men 


OUR  RETREAT  TOWARDS  GOITO        251 

were  so  tired  that  he  feared  they  could  not  stand  against 
these  fresh  troops,  and  he  asked  leave  to  retreat.  I  also 
learned  that  Belvedere  had  been  strongly  attacked,  and 
that  Govone's  troops  were  beginning  to  give  way.  To 
both  generals  I  sent  orders  to  retreat  on  Villafranca. 
When  the  order  reached  the  9th  division  it  had  already 
fallen  back  on  Valeggio.  The  8th  descended  into  Villa- 
franca, leaving  the  52d  regiment  behind,  still  defending 
itself  furiously.  It  ultimately  reached  Valeggio,  where  it 
remained  till  the  morning  of  the  25th. 

Hardly  had  I  sent  the  orders  to  retreat  to  the  8th  and 
9th  divisions  when  Colonel  Avogadro  arrived  from  Goito 
with  a  message  from  La  Marmora.  Repeating  his  in- 
junctions to  hold  my  positions,  he  asked  for  information 
as  to  what  was  happening  on  the  heights,  and  placed  two 
other  regiments  of  cavalry  at  my  disposal,  in  case  a  general 
retreat  became  necessary.  I  charged  Avogadro  to  tell 
La  Marmora  that  I  considered  a  general  retreat  unavoid- 
able, because  the  8th  and  9th  were  retiring,  while  Longoni's 
division  had  never  arrived,  and  the  vicinity  of  Villafranca 
was  still  encumbered  with  baggage  waggons.  The  case 
would  have  been  very  different  if  the  i8th  and  19th  had 
come  up  in  time.  Avogadro  had  passed  my  aide-de-camp, 
with  his  horse  dead  lame,  and  brought  me  a  message  from 
him  that  the  artillery  of  the  19th  must  already  be  on  its 
way,  as  General  Longoni  had  promised  to  despatch  it 
immediately.  It  only  arrived  when  the  troops  were  pre- 
paring for  the  general  retreat,  and  was  sent  straight 
back  to  Roverbella.  Soon  after  Avogadro  left  I  received 
the  order  from  La  Marmora  to  retreat,  with  the  whole 
army  corps,  across  the  Mincio,  sending  on  first  all  the 
military  and  civil  train. 

For  two  hours  the  long  line  of  waggons  was  defiling  in 
the  direction  of  Goito,  and  it  was  dusk  before  the  i6th 
division  took  its  place  in  the  rear.     To  Bixio  I  entrusted 


252      AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A    VETERAN 

the  protection  of  the  retreat,  during  which  the  rearguard 
was  several  times  hotly  attacked  by  the  Austrian  cavalry. 
Half  way  I  ordered  my  chief  of  the  staff  to  establish  our 
headquarters  at  Marengo,  near  Goito,  and  with  an  aide- 
de-camp  I  rode  to  Cerlungo  to  find  the  king  and  La 
Marmora,  and  obtain  orders  for  the  morrow.  I  started 
about  half-past  eight,  hoping  to  arrive  by  ten,  and  to  find 
them  still  up.  But  I  became  entangled  in  the  confusion 
of  the  transport  waggons,  had  to  ride  in  the  bottom  of 
the  ditches,  and  wait  a  long  time  before  I  could  cross 
the  bridge.  It  was  one  o'clock  in  the  morning  before  I 
reached  the  army  headquarters,  and  I  found  that  the  king 
and  the  chief  of  the  staff  had  retired  to  their  rooms,  which 
were  near  each  other.  The  king  received  me  immediately, 
and  said  La  Marmora  insisted  on  resigning  his  post  as 
chief  of  the  staff,  and  wished  me  to  assume  it  at  once.  But 
I  pointed  out  that,  in  the  present  condition  of  affairs,  I 
could  not  be  of  any  service.  The  division  of  the  army, 
and  all  the  arrangements  which  could  not  be  changed 
without  turning  everything  upside  down,  would  have 
paralysed  my  initiative.  I  could  not  eliminate  La  Mar- 
mora or  deprive  Cialdini  of  his  command  ;  it  was  therefore 
absolutely  necessary  that  La  Marmora  should  remain  and 
carry  out  his  plans.  These  and  other  arguments  I  used 
to  the  king,  and  begged  him  to  let  me  try  and  persuade  La 
Marmora  to  remain  at  his  post.  I  found  Alphonse  walking 
up  and  down  his  room,  half  undressed,  giving  vent  to  his 
grief  by  broken  words  and  gestures.  Forgetting  the  past, 
I  took  his  hand,  drew  him  towards  me,  and  embraced 
him.  I  tried  to  console  him,  but  was  so  much  moved  I 
could  hardly  speak.  I  strove  to  persuade  him  that  his 
plain  duty  at  such  a  moment  was  to  stand  by  the  king, 
unite  our  forces,  and  take  an  immediate  revenge,  which 
would  allow  us  to  continue  the  campaign  and  attain  what 
all  desired.     It  was  in  vain  ;  he  refused  to  listen.     Tossing 


LA  MARMORA   THROWS  UP  COMMAND     253 

his  long,  hairy  arms  about,  he  vehemently  rejected  every 
proposal  as  to  keeping  the  command.  At  one  moment  he 
took  up  a  revolver  from  the  table  and  said,  '  Rather  than 
retain  the  command  under  such  conditions,  I  will  blow  out 
my  brains.'  Then  he  sat  down,  with  his  head  between  his 
hands,  and  reiterated  all  he  had  told  me  that  morning — 
the  pain  and  humiliation  when  he  found  he  could  no 
longer  see ;  that  the  battalions  of  the  enemy  and  their 
movements  had  been  pointed  out  to  him  in  vain  ;  every- 
thing was  indistinct.  Sadly  he  repeated,  *  All  is  over  with 
me  ;  I  am  no  longer  fit  to  command,' 

I  went  back  to  the  king  to  announce  my  failure.  '  I 
am  not  surprised,'  said  Victor  Emanuel  ;  *  he  said 
almost  the  same  things  to  me,  and  he  is  determined  to 
resign.  He  wants  me  to  call  Cialdini,  but  I  feel  that 
would  be  falling  from  the  frying-pan  into  the  fire.'  '  If 
Your  Majesty  will  take  my  advice,'  I  replied,  '  you  will 
make  Bixio  your  chief  of  the  staff.'  '  Oh  ! '  exclaimed  the 
king,  with  a  start,  '  you  are  mad !  Bixio  is  very  young, 
and  the  junior  general.  Who  would  obey  him  ? '  *  I 
would.  Bonaparte  was  a  general  at  twenty-seven,'  I 
answered ;  '  and,  believe  me,  Bixio  is  a  great  general.' 
'  That  may  be,  but  with  Cialdini  and  the  others  ...  we 
should  raise  a  hornets'  nest.  We  must  take  some  decision,' 
continued  the  king,  thoughtfully.  '  Then  take  Cialdini,  Your 
Majesty.  He  is  very  popular  at  this  moment,  and  all  will 
go  well  if  he  accepts.'  '  Well,'  said  the  king,  *  to-morrow 
we  shall  know  what  he  has  accomplished.'  '  If  he  is  ready,' 
I  said,  'we  might  recommence  without  loss  of  time.  In 
twenty-four  hours  my  corps  can  be  in  fighting  order. 
Cucchiari's  has  done  nothing,  and  Durando  can  re- 
constitute his  immediately.'  'Yes;  but  first  I  must  see 
Cialdini  in  private,'  and  the  king  inquired  where  he  could 
find  the  general,  as  he  would  take  my  brother  Frederick 
and  meet  him   in   some  isolated  cottage.     His   Majesty 


254      AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A    VETERAN 

dismissed  me,  saying,  '  I  shall  come  and  see  you  soon.'  I 
went  back  to  La  Marmora,  and  again  begged  him  not  to 
abandon  the  king.  He  was  calmer,  and  held  out  his 
hand,  which  I  took  warmly;  I  do  not  think  I  should  have 
done  so  had  I  known  of  the  disastrous  telegrams  which  he 
had  sent  to  the  capital  at  half-past  ten  that  night,  and 
which  struck  the  whole  country  dumb  with  grief  next 
morning.     {^See  note,  p.  259.) 

As  may  be  gathered  from  the  above  description,  the 
battle  of  Custoza  took  us  by  surprise.  The  want  of  foresight 
of  the  chief  of  the  staff,  then  practically  commander-in- 
chief  of  the  army,^  is,  and  probably  always  will  be,  in- 
explicable. The  man  who  sent  the  declaration  of  war 
ought  to  have  had  a  matured  plan  ready,  and  the  com- 
mander of  each  corps  should  have  been  in  possession  of 
the  minutest  details.  Instead  of  which,  the  crossing  of 
the  Mincio  was  treated  as  though  it  had  been  a  simple 
change  of  quarters,  and  the  instructions  given  to  the  com- 
manders of  the  different  corps  contained  no  hint  of  any 
plan  of  battle.  The  army  headquarters  trusted  blindly 
in  insufficient  and  false  information,  and  the  orders  given 
on  the  23d  to  the  general  commanding  the  cavalry 
division  were  so  indefinite  and  insufficient  that  he  did  not 
push  his  reconnaissance  in  the  Quadrilateral  beyond  Villa- 
franca,  whereas  he  ought  to  have  reconnoitred  the  posi- 
tions of  S.  Massimo,  Croce  Bianco  and  Santa  Lucia  on 
the  right  bank  of  the  river.  Having  stopped  at  Villa- 
franca,  he  declared  there  was  no  enemy  in  the  Quadri- 
lateral, save  a  few  scouts.  This  coincided  with  the  infor- 
mation of  the  Intelligence  Department,  whereupon  the 
chief  of  the  staff  took  it  for  granted  that  the  whole  Austrian 

^  The  ministry  had  submitted  to  the  king  for  signature  a  decree  naming 
La  Marmora  generaUssirao  of  the  army,  as  Czarnowsky  had  been  in  1849. 
But  Victor  Emanuel  refused  to  sign  it,  and  substituted  chief  of  the  staff  for 
generalissimo.  La  Marmora,  however,  very  likely  without  intending  it,  thanks 
to  his  domineering  nature,  really  exercised  the  functions  of  generalissimo. 


OUR  FATAL  MISTAKES  255 

army  was  concentrated  behind  the  Adige,  and  that  it  was 
for  us  to  drive  them  out  on  the  25th.  General  Durando, 
commanding  the  ist  corps,  had  received,  or,  at  anyrate, 
had  given,  orders  to  his  subordinates  on  the  morning  of 
the  24th  to  occupy  the  positions  between  Castelnuovo  and 
Valeggio — the  very  positions  which  had  been  occupied 
during  the  previous  evening  by  the  Austrians,  who  atacked 
the  divisions  Sirtori  and  Cerale  early  on  the  24th. 

The  primary,  if  not  the  most  fatal,  error  of  the  chief 
of  the  staff  lay  in  thus  acting  without  exact  information. 
Occupied  in  directing  the  politics  of  the  government, 
which  detained  him  in  Florence  far  from  the  army  until 
the  last  moment,  he  ought  never  to  have  assumed  the 
responsibility  of  the  command  at  the  king's  side.  The 
political  services  rendered  by  him  during  the  campaign 
'  were,'  he  writes,^  '  of  far  greater  importance  than  a  victory 
on  the  plains  of  Custoza.'  They  would  have  been  more 
efficacious  had  he  remained  at  his  post  as  president  of  the 
Council  ;  he  would  then  have  been  able  to  correct  the 
erroneous  opinions  of  the  other  ministers,  who  misunder- 
stood or  misinterpreted  the  conditions  of  the  Treaty  of 
Alliance  with  Prussia,  and  advanced  pretensions  which 
might  have  compromised  not  only  the  fate  of  Venice  but 
of  all  Italy. 

I  have  said  that  acting  on  insufficient  information  was 
the  principal,  if  not  the  fatal,  error  which  led  to  the  dis- 
aster of  Custoza.  The  first  mistake  was  the  division  of 
the  army  into  two  independent  parts.  Cialdini,  command- 
ing the  so-called  army  of  the  Po,  received  no  orders — 
only  suggestions,  from  the  chief  of  the  staff — suggestions 
to  which,  on  two  separate  occasions,  at  least,  he  replied, 
'  I  cannot  come  ;  I  am  not  ready.'  As  a  fact,  on  the  24th 
he  was  not  ready  to  cross  the  Po,  but  he  might  have  been 
on  the  25th  or  26th.  The  chief  of  the  staff  ought  to  have 
*  See  Lettera  al  Massari,  19th  August'  1866,  in  Ricordi  Biografici,  p.  369. 


LI 


^f^A> 


256      AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A    VETERAN 

been  informed  of  this ;  the  army  of  the  king  would  then 
probably  have  either  only  threatened  the  Austrians  from 
the  opposite  bank  of  the  Mincio,  or  have  crossed  in  force 
at  Borghetto,  and  taken  up  a  strong  position  at  and 
around  Valeggio  to  attract  the  notice  of  the  enemy,  and 
thus  facilitate  Cialdini's  passage  of  the  Po.  Then  Arch- 
duke Albert  would  not  have  been  able  to  try  and  outflank 
us  from  Goito  or  from  Mantua.  We  should  have  menaced 
his  flank,  and  his  communication  with  Verona  might  have 
been  broken.  He  would  have  been  forced  to  retire  by  the 
Tyrol  or  accept  battle  between  two  fires. 

Had  the  army  been  kept  together,  our  great  superiority 
of  numbers  must  have  given  us  the  victory.  An  encounter 
with  the  enemy  was  so  little  expected  on  the  24th  at  head- 
quarters that,  although  the  troops  had  crossed  to  the  left 
bank  of  the  Mincio,  the  headquarters  remained  on  the 
right  at  Cerlungo,  instead  of  moving  to  Valeggio,  the 
central  position  of  the  line  from  Castelnuovo  to  Villa- 
franca,  so  that  the  commander-in-chief  had  no  headquarters 
during  the  whole  course  of  the  battle.  Another  grave 
mistake  was  allowing  all  the  transport,  ammunition  and 
commissariat  waggons  to  follow  immediately  behind  the 
army,  encumbering  all  the  roads,  causing  endless  con- 
fusion in  the  plain  of  Villafranca,  and  preventing  rein- 
forcements to  arrive  in  time.  It  also  greatly  retarded 
the  retreat  of  the  3d  corps,  and  exposed  the  army  to  the 
danger  of  being  attacked  on  the  flank  or  the  rear. 


CHAPTER    XXIV 
1866  (THIRD  PART) 

Disastrous  Telegrams — Cialdini  takes  Command  of  150,000  Men — I  Command 
a  Reconnaissance  in  Force — It  is  Countermanded — General  Austrian 
Retreat  after  Sadowa — Prussia  Signs  Preliminaries  of  Peace  without 
consulting  Italy — Prince  Jerome  Napoleon — La  Marmora  compelled  to 
ask  for  an  Armistice — We  are  threatened  by  France  and  Prussia — La 
Marmora  sacrifices  his  Popularity. 

After  leaving  Victor  Emanuel  and  La  Marmora  at  Cer- 
lungo,  I  rode  to  Goito  in  the  hopes  of  finding  my  troops. 
But  although  the  night  was  far  advanced,  few  had  been 
able  to  cross  the  bridges,  and  others  were  detained  by  the 
confusion  of  the  waggons  on  the  road.  I  succeeded,  how- 
ever, in  getting  through,  and  entered  the  first  house  in 
Goito  I  found  open.  In  a  big  room  on  the  ground  floor 
were  several  officers  asleep  on  straw,  and  on  a  mattress, 
with  a  rug  thrown  over  him,  General  Cucchiari.  Not  to 
disturb  him,  I  lay  down  quietly  on  the  straw;  no  one 
had  seen  me  enter,  or  knew  I  was  there  till  I  said  good- 
morning  at  dawn,  when  my  divisions,  Bixio  and  Prince 
Humbert,  arrived.  After  seeing  them  march  past  in 
splendid  order,  I  returned  to  Cerlungo,  where  La  Marmora 
had  called  a  council  of  generals.  We  were  to  discuss  and 
decide  upon  our  future  movements  and  plans — whether  to 
retire  or  to  summon  Cialdini's  army  corps  from  the  other 
side  of  the  Po,  and,  with  the  united  armies,  reassume  the 
offensive.  But,  as  usually  happens  on  such  occasions,  no 
one's  opinion  was  positively  asked.  He  who  had  sum- 
moned us  stated  his   own   opinions,  which   assumed   the 

R 


258      AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A    VETERAN 

form  of  commands,  and  it  was  resolved  to  retreat  upon 
the  positions  we  had  occupied  on  the  nth  June — Piacenza, 
Cremona  and  its  vicinity.  And  yet,  on  the  25th,  General 
Pianell  had  been  able  to  reorganise  the  ist  corps  (Dur- 
ando) ;  the  2d  (Cucchiari)  had  taken  no  part  in  the  action 
of  the  preceding  day ;  and  the  3d  (my  corps)  was  also 
reorganised,  and  full  of  'go.'  We  had,  therefore,  over 
eighty  thousand  men  and  one  hundred  and  fifty  guns  in 
a  strong  position,  with  our  right  leaning  on  the  Mincio, 
and  the  Pass  of  Goito  in  our  hands.  But  La  Marmora, 
either  disheartened,  or  wishing  to  give  the  king  and  the 
ministers  time  to  arrive  at  some  determination  about  the 
nomination  of  a  new  chief  of  the  staff,  was  about  to  issue 
orders  for  the  retreat. 

Although  my  opinion  had  not  been  asked,  I  could  not 
refrain  from  going  to  La  Marmora  and  to  the  king  to  say 
that  I  thought  it  would  be  most  discouraging  to  send 
the  troops  back  to  their  first  positions,  and  thus  acknow- 
ledge a  defeat  they  had  hardly  realised.  I  implored  that, 
at  all  events,  mine  should  be  stationed  behind  the  Oglio, 
a  strong  position,  whence  we  could  soon  return  to  the 
Mincio. 

For  once  La  Marmora  listened,  and  approved  of  my 
idea.  His  first  orders  were  maintained  for  the  other 
divisions,  but  mine  started  on  the  26th  for  Gazzoldo  and 
Acquanegra  towards  the  Oglio.  Bixio  was  charged  with 
the  defence  of  the  rearguard,  and  did  it  admirably.  On 
the  29th  my  headquarters  were  at  Piadena,  where  I  re- 
ceived the  first  letters  and  papers  I  had  seen  since  we 
crossed  the  Mincio  on  the  22d.  For  the  first  time  I  saw 
the  telegrams  despatched  from  Cerlungo  to  Florence  on 
the  evening  of  the  24th  and  the  morning  of  the  25th.^ 

^  The  telegrams  we  now  read  in  the  files  of  the  official  papers  of  the  24th 
and  25th  June  1866  are  different  from  those  I  saw  at  Piadena.  The  former 
would  hardly  have  caused  the  anger  and  indignation  I  felt.     I  quote  a  tele 


CIALDINI  COMMANDS  150,000  MEN      259 

I  was  still  under  the  painful  impression  of  the  first 
telegrams,  the  effect  of  which  there  had  been  an  attempt 
to  mitigate,^  when,  soon  after  dawn  on  the  morning  of 
the  2d  July,  Victor  Emanuel,  his  cigar  in  his  mouth, 
entered  my  tiny  room  at  Piadena.  I  was  up,  but  not 
dressed,  and  my  clothes  occupied  the  single  chair  ;  so 
the  king  sat  on  the  bed  and  told  me  he  had  seen 
Cialdini,  and  La  Marmora  had  gone  to  Parma  to  meet 
him.  At  first  Cialdini  absolutely  refused  to  take  the 
place  of  La  Marmora,  and  advised  the  king  to  make  me 
chief  of  the  staff,  assuring  him  that  there  would  be  no 
friction  between  us.  Experience  had,  however,  taught 
me  that,  with  every  good  intention,  my  colleague  could 
not  curb  his  temper,  impatient  of  any  sort  of  control. 
Victor  Emanuel  knew  this  as  well  as  I  did,  and  assured 
Cialdini  that  I  had  refused,  and  it  was  no  use  to  ask 
me  again. 

They  then  agreed  that  the  whole  army  should  be  con- 
centrated on  the  Po,  and  that  Cialdini  was  to  have  the 
command  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  men,  form- 
ing an  army  for  active  operations,  while  the  rest,  nearly 

gram  of  the  25th  from  the  Life  of  La  Marmora,  by  Massari  (page  351).  It  is 
less  offensive  than  the  first  (of  the  24th),  which  is  not  given.  I  leave  my 
readers  to  judge  what  a  disastrous  impression  even  this  one  must  have  made  on 
the  minds  of  Italians : — '  Yesterday  the  Austrians  attacked  the  army  corps 
Durando  and  Delia  Rocca  near  Valeggio  and  Villafranca  with  their  whole  force, 
and  routed  them.  The  condition  of  the  army  is  deplorable  ;  will  be  powerless 
for  action  for  some  time.  Five  divisions — Cerale,  Brignone,  Sirtori,  Govone, 
Cugia — are  disorganised.  Austrians  do  not  seem  inclined  to  pursue  for  the 
moment.  Goito,  Volta,  Cavriana,  Solferino  are  being  put  'into  a  state  of 
defence.  Our  losses  are  very  heavy,  but  cannot  as  yet  be  estimated.  Generals 
Cerale,  Dho,  Gozzani,  Prince  Amadeus,  wounded ;  General  Villarey,  killed.' 

*  On  the  27th  June  La  Marmora  despatched  the  following  telegram  from 
Redondesco  : — '  Now  that  the  details  are  known,  the  battle  of  the  24th  is  more 
creditable  to  us  than  at  first  appeared.  The  Austrians  remained  masters  of 
part  only  of  the  battlefield,  we  retained  the  rest.  Our  losses  were  heavy,  but 
so  were  those  of  the  enemy.  Most  of  the  troops  performed  prodigies  of  valour, 
and  the  Austrians  are  certainly  convinced  by  now  that  the  Italian  is  not  inferior 
to  the  old  Piedmontese  army.' 


26o      AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A    VETERAN 

fifty  thousand,  were  to  remain  in  observation  in  Venetia 
and  round  the  fortresses,  under  the  command  of  the  king, 
with  La  Marmora  as  chief  of  the  staff  (provisionally,  they 
said,  but  he  kept  the  post  until  peace  was  concluded). 
After  recounting  this,  the  king  at  length  told  me  what 
had  brought  him  alone  to  me  at  such  an  hour. 

The  evening  before  news  had  come  that  the  Archduke 
Albert  had  crossed  the  Mincio  with  part  of  his  army  on 
the  night  of  the  30th  June,  and  taken  up  a  position  to  the 
right  near  Goito.  On  the  ist  July  the  king  and  his  chief 
of  the  staff  settled  to  send  a  reconnaissance  in  force  to 
drive  the  enemy  into  the  Quadrilateral,  and  Victor 
Emanuel  had  come  in  person  to  bring  me  the  good 
news  that  I  was  to  have  the  command  of  the  expedi- 
tion. I  already  saw  myself  at  Goito,  ready  to  revenge 
the  day  of  Custoza.  On  leaving,  the  king  said,  '  We 
have  prepared  everything ;  make  haste  and  start,  I  know 
all  will  go  well.' 

I  made  such  haste  that  everything  was  ready  that 
evening.  We  started  at  nightfall  without  trumpet  or 
drum,  the  silence  only  broken  by  the  tramp  of  the  men 
and  horses.  The  soldiers  left  their  heavy  knapsacks 
behind,  and  only  carried  provisions  and  ammunition  for 
two  days.  We  marched  fast,  and  arrived  at  Redondesco, 
where  we  halted,  much  sooner  than  we  expected.  All 
were  in  high  spirits ;  they  knew  or  guessed  that  we  were 
going  to  take  our  revenge. 

But  just  as  we  were  preparing  for  a  short  rest  an 
officer  came  up  at  full  gallop  with  counter-orders  from 
La  Marmora.  The  affair  was  to  be  limited  to  a  simple 
reconnaissance  w.th  a  few  troops,  the  rest  were  to  return 
at  once  to  Piadena.  Curses  were  loud  and  deep,  and  I 
must  confess  I  set  the  example.  Charging  my  chief  of 
the  staff  to  see  to  the  retreat  on  Piadena,  I  occupied 
myself  in  preparing  the  reconnaissance,  which  I  ordered 


AUSTRIAN  RETREAT  AFTER  SADOWA     261 

to  advance  as  far  as  the  Mincio.  On  the  advent  of  our 
men,  the  Austrians,  who  were  just  dining,  threw  away 
pots  and  plates,  and  hastened  to  recross  the  bridges, 
which  they  barricaded. 

It  was  the  beginning  of  the  great  retreat,  which  they 
continued,  across  the  Tyrol,  beyond  the  Brenta,  the  Piave. 
the  Tagliamento  and  the  Isonzo,  leaving  only  troops 
enough  to  garrison  the  fortresses.  The  main  body  had 
been  summoned  to  replace  the  men  who  had  fallen  at 
Sadowa.  Had  the  counter-order  of  the  chief  of  the  staff 
been  less  clear  and  peremptory,  and  deprived  me  of  the 
full  powers  given  by  Victor  Emanuel  on  the  morning  of 
2d  July,  neither  the  enemy's  flight  nor  the  barricaded 
bridges  would  have  prevented  me  from  following  him 
and  forcing  him  to  fight.  In  which  case,  even  without 
the  aid  of  Cialdini,  there  is  no  doubt  Venetia  would  have 
been  taken  and  occupied  by  force  of  arms. 

I  refrained  from  asking  La  Marmora  why  he  sent  that 
unfortunate  counter-order,  nor  did  I  go  near  the  king, 
whose  headquarters  at  Piadena  were  close  to  mine — I  was 
so  angry  that  I  feared  I  might  say  something  I  had  better 
have  left  unsaid.  A  year  later,  at  Turin,  I  asked  La  Marmora, 
and  his  reply  was,  '  You  remember  that  I  resigned  after  the 
battle  of  Custoza,  but  consented  to  remain  as  chief  of  the 
staff  until  Cialdini,  designated  by  me  as  my  successor, 
should  have  seen  the  king.  At  Parma  I  met  Cialdini 
some  days  later,  and  we  settled  to  concentrate  the  troops 
in  a  counter-march  on  Ferrara,  when  he  was  to  have  taken 
the  command  of  three  parts  of  the  army,  pursue  the 
Austrians,  and  force  them  to  deliver  battle  in  the  open 
before  crossing  the  frontier.  It  was  decided  that  from 
that  day  I  was  to  communicate  every  movement  of  the 
army  of  the  Mincio  to  him.  His  Majesty,  having  been 
informed  that  part  of  the  Austrian  army  were  moving  on 
the  opposite  side  of  the  Mincio  towards  Goito,  insisted 


262      AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A    VETERAN 

on  making  an  attempt  on  Goito  before  undertaking 
the  counter-march.  He  arranged  everything  with  me, 
and  went  straight  to  order  you  to  carry  out  his  idea. 
This  I  knew  late  on  the  2d,  and,  according  to  my  pro- 
mise, telegraphed  your  departure  to  Cialdini,  and  asked 
him  to  assist  you  if  necessary.  He  answered  that  he  was 
not  ready  to  support  the  movement  on  Goito,  begged  me 
to  suspend  it  immediately,  and  detain  the  troops  at 
Piadena  and  Bozzolo,  adding  that  he  would  advance  his 
corps  towards  Borgoforte,  which  might  be  taken  on  the 
5th.  That  is  why  I  sent  you  orders  to  return  to  your 
encampments  on  the  Oglio.' 

Thus  an  operation  ordered  by  the  king,  and  approved 
by  La  Marmora,  was  countermanded  by  Cialdini — another 
proof  of  the  evil  of  a  divided  command.  Here  I  must 
put  on  record  that  of  the  three  commanders,  the  one  who 
on  that  occasion  showed  most  military  intuition  was 
Victor  Emanuel,  and  he  keenly  felt  and  lamented  over  the 
lost  opportunity. 

Before  mentioning  the  political  imbroglio  which  occurred 
in  July,  when  we  not  only  lost  valuable  time,  but  ran  the 
risk  of  having  to  fight  not  only  the  Austrians,  but  the 
French  and  our  allies  the  Prussians,  I  must  touch  on  the 
retreat  of  the  enemy. 

The  Austrian  commanders  evidently  received  news  on 
the  3d  July  of  the  defeat  in  Bohemia,  accompanied  by 
orders  to  concentrate  the  troops  and  to  retire  upon 
Vienna,  renouncing  the  plan  begun  on  the  30th  June  by 
the  passage  of  part  of  the  troops  to  the  right  bank  of  the 
Mincio.  Orders  not  to  accept  battle  must  already  have 
been  given  on  the  2d.  Telegrams,  announcing  the  defeat 
of  Sadowa,  arrived  on  the  3d  and  4th  July,  accompanied 
by  orders  to  send  every  available  man  to  the  frontier. 
The  evacuation  began  on  the  5th  July ;  twenty  thousand 
men  were  left  in  Venice,  but  Verona,  Mantua,  Peschiera, 


THE  POLITICAL  IMBROGLIO  263 

Legnago  and  Palmanova  were  denuded  of  all  the  troops, 
save  those  necessary  to  defend  the  material  of  war. 

The  archduke,  with  the  greater  part  of  his  troops,  retired 
during  the  6th  and  8th  behind  the  Adige,  leaving  only  one 
corps  to  cover  his  retreat,  which  had  orders  to  make  use 
of  the  railway,  and  from  the  Tyrol  go  straight  to  the 
Danube.  We  ought  to  have  seized  that  moment  to  pursue 
the  retreating  army,  take  the  fortresses,  and  carry  out,  in 
part,  the  plan  sketched  by  Prussia  in  that  famous  note  of 
17th  June,  which  so  offended  La  Marmora,  and  which 
suggested  our  taking  possession  of  Venetia  and  opening 
the  road  towards  the  Danube.  We  were  prevented  from 
doing  this,  not  only  by  Cialdini's  hesitation  on  the  Po,  but 
by  the  far  more  justifiable  hesitation  of  the  king  and  the 
government. 

Then  began  the  political  imbroglio.  Immediately  after 
the  defeat  of  Sadowa,  Austria  had  made,  through  the 
Emperor  Napoleon,  the  unexpected  proposal  to  King 
Victor  Emanuel  to  cede  Venice  and  some  of  the  for- 
tresses to  Italy,  with  the  intention,  naturally,  of  detaching 
us  from  the  Prussian  alliance,  and  being  thus  enabled  to 
send  all  her  troops  into  Bohemia.  But  this  proposal  of 
a  cession  and  a  retrocession  was  doubly  offensive  to  the 
national  sentiment ;  first,  the  refusal  of  the  Emperor 
Francis  to  treat  directly  with  our  king ;  secondly,  seeing 
all  chance  of  our  long-wished  for  revenge  escape.  There 
was  a  scream  of  indignation  throughout  the  country  and 
the  army.  The  unpopularity  of  the  measure,  and  the 
loyalty  of  the  king,  who  insisted  on  at  once  acquainting 
his  Prussian  ally  with  the  proposal,  greatly  embarrassed 
the  government,  and  induced  them,  if  not  to  refuse,  at  all 
events  not  to  accept  the  advice  of  the  French  Emperor 
immediately.  To  increase  the  difficulties  of  our  position 
Napoleon  accused  Italy  of  wilfully  causing  delay. 

Several  days  passed  in  this  uncertainty,  during  which 


264      AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A    VETERAN 

we  consulted  Prussia,  who  turned  round  and  accused  us  of 
double  dealing  and  weakness,  and  then  suddenly  accepted 
proposals  made  by  Austria,  and  at  Nikolsburg  (July  21st) 
signed,  without  the  cognisance  of  the  Italian  government, 
an  armistice  with  preliminaries  of  peace,  thus  abandoning 
her  ally  in  front  of  the  formidable  army  collected  by 
Austria  against  themselves. 

All  these  circumstances  called  up  a  fourth  direction  of 
the  army,  personified  by  the  government,  and  representing 
policy  and  diplomacy,  which,  I  need  not  say,  disagreed 
with  the  three  military  chiefs  already  existing. 

On  loth  July  I  had  received  orders  to  execute  a 
counter-march  from  the  Oglio  to  Ferrara,  and  by  way  of 
Casalmaggiore,  where  the  ist  corps  met  us,  went  to  Parma, 
whence  Ferrara  could  be  reached  in  a  few  hours.  But  we 
were  delayed  twenty-four  hours  by  a  collision  on  the  rail- 
way and  the  want  of  trucks. 

While  the  Austrians  were  retiring  from  the  Quadrilateral, 
Cialdini  was  besieging  Borgoforte.  When,  on  the  8th  July, 
he  crossed  the  Po  between  Carbonarola  and  Fellonica,  the 
commander-in-chief  thought  it  a  favourable  moment  to 
transfer  the  army  of  the  Mincio  to  the  lower  Po,  Borgo- 
forte was  evacuted  by  the  Austrians  on  the  13th  July,  the 
last  operations  having  been  directed  by  General  Nunziante, 
Duke  of  Mignano,  Cialdini  having  been  called  to  Ferrara, 
where,  at  a  council  presided  over  by  the  king,  it  was 
decided  to  resume  hostilities. 

One  army  of  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand 
men,  under  General  Cialdini,  was  to  advance  towards 
Isongo  and  Trieste ;  another,  of  less  strength,  to  remain 
in  Venetia,  near  the  fortresses,  under  the  king,  with  La 
Marmora  as  chief  of  the  staff.  The  first,  composed  of 
fourteen  divisions,  forming  five  corps — Pianell,  Pettiti, 
Cadorna,  Brignone,  and  Sonnaz — with  two  divisions  of 
cavalry,  was  called  the  active  corps  {corpo  di  spedizione). 


PRINCE  JEROME  NAPOLEON  265 

The  second  of  six  divisions,  forming  two  corps,  Delia 
Rocca  and  Cucchiari,  was  called  the  corps  of  observation 
{corpo  (T osservazione). 

On  July  1 6th  1  left  Parma  for  Ferrara  to  learn  what 
arrangements  had  been  made  regarding  my  army  corps. 
I  went  as  seldom  as  possible  to  the  palace,  where  the  king 
and  several  of  the  ministers  were  staying,  but  on  the  19th 
or  20th  I  was  summoned,  for  some  reason  I  no  longer 
remember,  and  met  Prince  Jerome  Napoleon,  sent  by  his 
cousin,  the  emperor,  to  persuade  Victor  Emanuel  and  the 
ministers  to  accept  the  conditions  proposed  by  France,  ue.^ 
an  armistice  between  Italy  and  Austria,  on  the  basis  of  the 
cession  of  the  Venetian  provinces  to  Italy.  The  prince 
gave  me  no  time  to  salute  him,  but  said,  *  Le  rot  ni'a  dit 
qu'il  vous  avait  offert  la  place  de  La  Marmora  le  soir  mime 
de  la  bataille  de  Custoza  ;  puisque  vous  I'avez  si  bien  tentie 
en  1859  pourquoi  ne  Vavez-vous  pas  voulue  cette  fois?* 
*  MaiSy  monseigneur^  I  replied,  ^f  avals  pour  c^la  de  tres 
bonnes  raisons,  que  Sa  Majesty  a  bien  voulue  comprendre  et 
accepter!  ^  Ah  !  bah  I  il  devait  vous  y  contraindre,  et  si 
f  avals  ///  a  sa  place^  et  que  vous  enssiez  persists  dans  le 
refuSyje  vous  aurais  flanqu^  un  bon  coup  de  pied  .  .  .  quel- 
que  part.'  '  Vous  oubliez,  mojiseigneur,  qu'en  ce  cas  f  aurais  iti 
oblige  dajouter  d  mes  autres  mifaits  celui  de  vous  le  rendre! 
The  prince  laughed,  but  afterwards  inveighed  against  the 
state  of  affairs,  and  abused  La  Marmora,  Ricasoli,  Visconti- 
Venosta,  Cialdini,  and  all  who  were  in  power.  He  declared 
that  the  king  was  compromising  the  existence  of  the 
country  for  questions  of  susceptibility,  which  he  considered 
mere  rhetoric. 

In  Italy  we  reason  otherwise.  The  questions  of  so- 
called  susceptibility  Victor  Emanuel  regarded  as  the 
defence  of  his  own  honesty  and  the  honour  of  the 
country;  he  therefore  resolved  to  reply — by  continuing 
the  war. 


266       AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A    VETERAN 

The  intense  desire  of  the  king  and  of  all  of  us  officers 
to  see  the  war  recommenced  and  carried  on  energetically ; 
Cialdini's  activity  in  getting  all  his  troops  across  the  Adige, 
and  sending  one  division  to  Maghera  to  watch  the  lagoon, 
another  to  the  Val  Sugana  to  help  Garibaldi,  and  Cadorna's 
corps  on  a  forced  march  towards  Trieste ;  so  well 
carried  out  that  he  would  infallibly  have  reached  his 
destination  in  five  or  six  days,  was  all  frustrated  by  the 
disaster  of  Lissa.  That  necessitated  a  suspension  of  arms 
on  the  26th,  and  rendered  orders  and  plans  of  battle  use- 
less. It  was  written  that  Venice  was  not  to  be  ours  by 
force  of  arms. 

From  Ferrara  I  was  sent  to  Este,  and  later  to  Vicenza. 
With  me  was  only  one  division  (the  1 6th,  Prince  Humbert's), 
but  the  other  two  were  to  join  me.  I  had  been  given  no 
special  orders,  and,  according  to  my  wont,  my  first  care  was 
to  be  well  informed  as  to  the  movements  of  the  enemy.  I 
learned  that  from  Roverado  he  intended  to  try  and  surprise 
Medici,  who  was  in  the  Val  Sugana  on  his  way  to  the 
Tyrol,  by  attacking  him  on  his  left  flank  and  rear.  I 
warned  him,  and  sent  several  battalions  of  Bersaglieri  with 
artillery,  under  Major-General  Ferreri,  whose  expedition 
was,  however,  paralysed  by  the  suspension  of  hostilities. 
I  then  received  orders  to  go  to  Vicenza. 

La  Marmora  was  compelled  to  ask  for  an  armistice 
by  the  force  of  circumstances.  Prussia  had  signed  pre- 
liminaries of  peace  with  Austria,  guaranteeing  the  integrity 
of  the  Austrian  empire,  with  the  exception  of  the  Venetian 
provinces,  without  warning  or  consulting  her  ally.  The 
moment  the  armistice  was  signed,  Austria  reconstituted 
her  southern  army,  and  the  Archduke  Albert  turned  his 
steps  again  towards  Italy,  with  an  army  three  times  more 
numerous  than  his  former  one.  His  divisions  advanced 
towards  Isongo  and  the  Tyrol.  The  Italian  government — 
that    is   Ricasoli    and   Visconti-Venosta,   as   well  as   our 


FRANCE  AND  PRUSSIA   THREATEN  US     267 

representatives  abroad,  wanted  to  extend  our  frontiers  so 
as  to  include  the  territory  of  Trent,  or,  at  anyrate,  what- 
ever ground  was  occupied  by  our  troops,  i.e.,  the  Utt 
Possidetis.  There  was  every  prospect  of  a  furious  struggle, 
and  La  Marmora,  fearing  we  might  be  worsted,  asked  for  an 
eight  days'  armistice,  in  order  to  discuss  matters  and  treat 
with  the  archduke.  This  the  latter  refused  to  grant  until 
the  Italian  troops  in  occupation  of  the  Trent  territory  and 
those  marching  on  Trieste  were  recalled.  At  the  expira- 
tion of  eight  days  things  stood  at  the  same  point  as  on  the 
first.  Meanwhile,  the  Austrian  army  was  daily  reinforced, 
and  Prussia,  who  no  longer  wished  to  continue  the  war, 
assumed  a  threatening  attitude,  and  tried  to  force  us  to 
conclude  the  armistice.  The  Emperor  Napoleon,  angry  at 
his  mediation  not  having  been  accepted,  also  threatened 
us,  and  accused  us  of  risking  a  general  war  by  refusing 
to  simply  accept  Venetia.  It  was  patent  to  all  that  an 
armistice  followed  by  a  peace  was  inevitable,  and  that 
we  should  be  baulked  of  our  revenge.  A  prolongation  of 
the  suspension  of  arms  for  another  week  was  therefore 
asked. 

On  July  28th  I  entered  Vicenza,  to  the  relief  of  the 
inhabitants,  who  had  been  left  without  a  garrison,  and 
feared  molestation  from  the  Austrians  at  Verona.  I  should 
have  enjoyed  my  stay  in  the  beautiful  city  had  I  been  less 
tormented  by  the  fear  of  a  more  or  less  dishonourable 
peace.  I  did  not  ask  what  was  going  on,  and  no  informa- 
tion was  given  to  me,  and  although  the  king  was  near  by 
at  Padua,  I  avoided  going  there  until  called.  Some  days 
after  the  second  suspension  of  arms  Victor  Emanuel  sent 
for  me  ;  he  was  ill  and  low  spirited — a  rare  thing — and  had 
been  bled  twice  by  the  doctor's  orders.  Worried  and  per- 
plexed as  to  what  decision  to  take,  he  wished  to  have  my 
opinion  and  advice.  I  answered  briefly,  not  that  I  was 
offended  by  having  been  told  so  little  about  the  political 


268      AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A    VETERAN 

and  military  conditions  of  the  country,  but  after  witnessing 
almost  daily  for  sixteen  years  the  pitfalls  and  the  diffi- 
culties which  surround  the  life  of  a  Constitutional  sovereign, 
I  knew  what  his  good  intentions  were  worth,  and  what 
practical  use  he  could  make  of  the  advice  of  sincere  friends, 
when  that  advice  was  contrary  to  the  deliberations  of  the 
ministers.  So  I  replied  that  I  was  not  in  a  position  to 
express  an  opinion,  or  to  give  any  advice,  as  I  knew 
nothing  of  what  was  going  on.  When  I  said  this,  Victor 
Emanuel  looked  me  straight  in  the  face  with  the  half- 
affectionate,  half-sceptical,  but  wholly  good-natured 
expression  I  knew  so  well  and  loved  so  dearly,  and  half 
sighing,  half  laughing,  with  the  same  tone  of  voice  in  which 
twenty  years  before  he  had  said  to  me,  '  Ld,,  Id,  c'am  cria  nen 
ifareu  tut  lo  ch'a  veul,'  he  said,  '  You  are  right ;  it  shall  not 
occur  again.  Henceforward  I  shall  tell  you  everything,  and 
you  must  advise  me.'  He  then  initiated  me  into  the 
difficulties  of  his  position,  in  the  midst  of  a  terrible  struggle 
between  the  opinion  of  his  ministers,  the  just  wishes  of  his 
army  and  of  the  nation,  which  he  shared,  and  the  imperious 
will  of  three  European  powers  far  stronger  than  ourselves. 
He  told  me  several  facts  which,  to  my  mind,  rendered  the 
situation  exceedingly  grave. 

Although  La  Marmora  was  no  longer  chief  of  the  staff 
of  the  whole  army,  but  only  of  the  corps  of  observation 
{corpo  di  osservazione),  he  continued  to  exercise  the 
functions  of  generalissimo,  and  was  therefore  far  better 
informed  than  myself  He  considered  our  position  to  be 
so  perilous  that  to  save  the  army  and  the  country  he 
resolved  to  sacrifice  his  popularity  to  the  public  wrath,  and 
signed  the  armistice  which,  in  despite  of  diplomacy,  of  the 
Italian  ministry,  and  of  public  opinion,  saved  Italy  from  an 
Austrian  invasion,  and  from  still  greater  calamities. 

The  armistice  had  not  been  signed  when  I  saw  the 
king  at  Padua ;  perhaps  he  hoped  that  my  opinion  would 


LA  MARMORA  SACRIFICES  POPULARITY    269 

have  been  contrary  to  that  of  La  Marmora.  Twenty- 
four  hours  later,  during  the  night  of  the  loth  August,  His 
Majesty  telegraphed  to  me  in  cipher,  peremptorily  asking 
whether  I  thought  the  armistice  arranged  at  Cormons,  by 
order  of  La  Marmora,  between  General  Petitti  and  General 
Moring  ought  to  be  accepted  or  not.  I  replied,  '  Consider- 
ing our  bad  strategical  position,  I  think  the  armistice 
should  be  signed.'  My  reply  was  immediate,  and  des- 
patched at  midnight,  and  I  used  one  of  the  ciphers  given 
to  me  by  the  king;  yet  next  morning  (I  heard  afterwards 
from  Pettinengo)  my  telegram,  translated,  was  in  the 
hands  of  the  ministers. 

The  armistice  was  signed  that  same  day  (nth  August). 
I  do  not  suppose  my  advice  had  any  weight  with  the  king, 
or  that  he  desired  to  throw  any  part  of  the  responsibility 
on  me.  La  Marmora  generously  assumed  it  all.  As 
president  of  the  Council  he  treated  with  Prussia,  Austria 
and  France,  and  knew  better  than  anyone  what  dangers 
threatened  us.  He  was  daring  and  resolute,  as  he  had  been 
on  many  other  occasions.  The  evil  having  been  done,  it 
could  not  have  been  better  remedied. 

Cialdini  and  Garibaldi  were  ordered  to  retreat  from  the 
positions  they  occupied,  and  God  alone  knows  with  what  a 
sore  heart  the  hero  of  Nice  answered  the  telegraphic  order, 
with  the  simple  and  now  famous  word — ubbidisco  (I 
obey). 


CHAPTER    XXV 

1 866- 1 867 

Cialdini  Chief  of  the  Staff  of  the  Army — Illness  of  Victor  Emanuel — La 
Marmora  retires  to  Private  Life — Annexation  of  Venetia — Enthusiastic 
Reception  of  Victor  Emanuel  in  Venice — Marriage  of  Prince  Amadeus 
of  Savoy — Death  of  Count  di  Castiglione. 

After  the  armistice  had  been  signed,  peace  was  regarded 
as  a  certainty,  and  all  who  were  able  left  the  camp  and  the 
headquarters.  I  retained  the  i6th  division  at  Vicenza,  and 
sent  a  large  portion  of  the  loth  to  Padua  to  guard  the 
king's  headquarters,  which  were  not  far  from  the  Austrian 
outposts,  and  entirely  denuded  of  troops.  Absorbed  by 
the  difficulties  of  the  situation,  the  chief  of  the  staff  had 
given  no  more  thought  to  the  headquarters  of  the  general 
commander-in-chief.  Victor  Emanuel,  with  his  usual  active 
habits,  rode  all  over  the  country,  sometimes  at  dawn,  some- 
times late  in  the  evening,  accompanied  by  only  one  aide- 
de-camp.  Fortunately,  these  excursions  were  not  noticed 
by  the  enemy.  Imagine  what  consternation  there  would 
have  been  in  the  army  had  the  Austrian s  taken  the  king 
prisoner ! 

At  that  moment  no  one  thought  of  giving  fresh  orders. 
La  Marmora  had  resigned,  and  Cialdini  had  accepted  the 
position  of  chief  of  the  staff  of  the  army ;  but  the  former 
still  momentarily  retained  the  signature,  because  Cialdini 
had  made  certain  conditions,  and  insisted  on  their  fulfil- 

270 


ILLNESS  OF  VICTOR  EMANUEL         271 

ment  before  assuming  office.  One  of  the  conditions  was 
that  La  Marmora  should  have  no  active  command,  and  not 
interfere  at  headquarters,  or  in  any  particular  in  which  the 
responsibility  of  Cialdini  was  engaged.  The  latter  was 
still  very  popular,  and  everything  he  asked  was  conceded, 
in  the  hope  that  he  would  succeed  better  than  anyone  else 
in  making  the  nation  understand  the  necessity  of  bowing 
to  the  political  exigencies  of  the  moment.  On  the  25th 
August  everything  was  settled,  and  General  Menabrea 
started  for  Vienna  to  treat  for  peace. 

I  wrote  to  Cialdini  to  congratulate  him,  and  from  that 
day  our  relations,  which  had  been  interrupted  during  the 
campaign,  were  renewed.  His  acceptance  of  such  a  posi- 
tion at  the  close  of  the  war  was  incomprehensible  to  many ; 
but  people  soon  understood  that  he  had  taken  it  in  order 
to  become  master  of  the  army,  and,  in  case  of  need,  curb 
the  storm  which  threatened  from  within. 

On  the  1st  September  I  went  to  Padua  to  take  leave 
of  the  king,  who  had  been  ordered  by  his  doctor  to  return 
to  Piedmont.  But  his  departure  had  to  be  retarded  for  ten 
or  twelve  days,  owing  to  a  relapse — a  threatening  of 
paralysis — which  fortunately  passed  off  in  twenty-four 
hours.  The  circumstances  of  the  armistice,  its  antecedents 
and  its  consequences,  had  affected  even  the  robust  fibre  of 
Victor  Emanuel.  He  spoke  but  little  of  himself,  and  a 
great  deal  of  me,  and  I  was  deeply  touched  when,  on 
taking  leave,  he  said,  *  I  wish  I  could  compensate  you  in 
some  way  for  the  unjust  accusations  and  unpleasantness 
you  have  had  during  this  campaign.  However,  you  will 
soon  return  to  Turin.  I  have  insisted  on  your  being 
reinstated  in  your  old  command.  Are  you  satisfied  ? ' 
'  Yes,  your  Majesty,'  I  replied  ;  '  but,  if  wanted  at  Verona  or 
elsewhere,  I  should  go  with  pleasure.  I  have  no  longer  the 
same  motives  as  some  years  ago  to  wish  for  the  command 
at  Turin  at  any  cost.'   *  I  know,'  said  the  king ;  *  but  you  will 


272      AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A    VETERAN 

be  happier  in  Turin  than  anywhere  else.     Come  and  see 
me  often  at  Florence.' 

On  leaving  the  king  I  stopped  at  Stra,  a  royal  villa 
where  Cialdini  had  established  his  headquarters.  We 
talked  over  the  war,  and  found  that  we  agreed  on  many 
points.  With  more  or  less  philosophy  we  discussed  the 
painful  impressions  received  since  we  last  met.  He  told 
me  about  the  political  conditions  of  Italy  from  the  5th 
July  to  the  15th  August,  much  of  which  I  had  already 
heard  from  the  king.^  The  day  before  I  left  Vicenza  for 
Ferrara,  I  returned  to  Stra  to  take  leave  of  Cialdini.  He 
was  out,  so  I  left  a  few  lines.  In  his  answer,  though 
written  with  his  usual  humour,  one  can  read  between  the 
lines  the  bitterness  we  all  felt.^     I  also  saw  La  Marmora 

^  Extract  of  Letter  from  General  Delia  Rocca  to  his  wife. 

'  Vicenza,  2d  Sept.  1866. 

' .  .  .  I  have  paid  my  two  visits.     The  king  was  still  unwell,  and  not  in 

good  spirits.     Cialdini,  on  the  contrary,  in  high  good -humour ;  he  told  me 

many  things,  some  I  knew  already.  .  .  .  From  what  the  king  said,  I  hope 

to  be  in  command  at  Turin  again.  .  .  .  Judging  by  the  telegrams  of  yesterday, 

one  would  say  that  in  the  high  imperial  and  royal  circles,  French  and  German, 

they  don't  know  what  they  are  doing  or  saying : — 

'  1st.  "  Austria  cedes  Venetia  to  the  Emperor  Napoleon." 

'  2d.  "  By  the  Treaty  of  Prague  she  assures  Venetia  to  Italy." 

'  3d.   "  By  the  treaty  signed  at  Paris  on  the  24th  Austria  cedes  Venetia  to 

France." 

'  4th.  "  France  cedes  Venetia  to  the  municipal  bodies." 

'  5th.  ' '  A  national  plebiscite  will  decide  to  whom  Venetia  is  to  belong. " 

'  6th.   "  Menabrea  goes  to  Vienna  to  discuss  what  portion  of  the  debt  Italy 

is  to  assume  for  Venetia  .  .  .  which  is  not  yet  hers,  and  perhaps 

may  never  be  !  " 

'  What  a  mess  !  .  .  .' 

'  Stra,  25^/2  Sept.  1866. 

2  '  Dear  Friend, — Thanks  for  the  courteous  good-bye  contained  in  your 
kindly  lines  of  yesterday.  ...  I  have  a  presentiment  that  this  is  our  last 
campaign,  and  as  it  seems  that  the  country  is  not  satisfied  with  its  generals, 
we  shall  be  beaten  and  demolished  without  ceremony.  We  stand  in  the  way 
of  growing  ambitions,  and  we  shall  receive  .  .  .  the  same  kick  we  once  gave 
to  our  predecessors.  This  is  only  natural,  and  I  don't  complain  ;  but  it  dis- 
tresses me  to  finish  my  career  like  a  fool,  by  an  odious  campaign  which  has 
satisfied  no  one,  and  made  everybody  say  that  the  Italian  generals  are  so  many 
matriculated  asses.' 


ANNEXATION  OF  VENETIA  273 

at  Vicenza  towards  the  end  of  August,  a  few  days  after 
he  had  definitely  retired  from  public  life.  I  think  he  was 
thankful  to  be  quit  of  the  responsibility,  and  although 
perfectly  aware  of  the  harsh  judgments  passed  upon  him 
(with  the  Treaty  of  Cormons  he  had  voluntarily  cast  his 
popularity  to  the  winds),  he  was  perfectly  tranquil,  because 
persuaded  that  he  had  saved  the  army  and  the  country 
from  imminent  peril.  He  attributed  the  many  misfortunes 
of  that  unfortunate  campaign  to  various  things,  which  may 
have  contributed,  but  were  certainly  not  the  principal  causes 
of  our  disasters.  In  my  opinion,  these  were — ignorance  of 
the  positions  of  the  enemy,  and  the  want  of  the  general 
commander-in-chiefs  headquarters  on  the  24th  July ;  want 
of  unity  in  the  command  ;  and  the  diplomatic  negotiations 
(probably  necessary  and  well  conducted)  which  fatally  inter- 
rupted and  impeded  the  action  of  the  army  until  the  con- 
clusion of  peace  between  Austria  and  Prussia,  which  left 
us  alone  to  face  the  enormous  forces  of  the  enemy. 

On  the  3d  October  the  treaty  ceding  Venetia  to  France 
was  signed,  and  immediately  after  the  plebiscite  the  im- 
perial commissary,  General  Leboeuf,  made  the  territory  over 
to  the  Italian  government.  His  presence  and  manners  were 
not  calculated  to  calm  the  irritation  existing  between  the 
Italians  and  the  French.  The  ph'biscite — 647,384  favour- 
able votes  against  69  negatives — was  a  consolation  to  Victor 
Emanuel,  who  suffered  more  for  the  Italian  cause  in  the 
year  1866  than  ever  before.  Early  in  November  I  assisted 
at  the  reception  of  the  Venetian  deputation,  which  pre- 
sented to  the  sovereign  the  Act  of  Annexation,  the  result 
of  the  plebiscite,  and  the  homage  of  his  new  subjects. 

The  king  had  insisted  on  receiving  the  Venetian 
deputation  in  his  ex-capital,  where  he  had  received  the 
Lombard,  Tuscan,  Parma,  Piacenza  and  Romagna  depu- 
tations. It  was  a  kind  of  last  homage  rendered  to  the 
city  which   had   been    the  cradle  and   the  centre  of  the 

S 


274      AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A    VETERAN 

movement  for  the  renascence,  the  independence  and  the 
unity  of  Italy. 

After  the  ceremony  Victor  Emanuel  sent  for  me  to 
his  apartments,  and  invited  me  to  accompany  him  to 
Venice.  He  then  told  me  of  some  disagreeable  things 
which  had  happened  in  his  military  and  civil  court. 
Good-natured  General  Rossi,  who  succeeded  me  as  first 
aide-de-camp  to  the  king,  was  indirectly  responsible,  as 
he  had  never  made  his  authority  felt  over  the  military 
court.  He  had  sent  in  his  resignation  on  account  of  bad 
health,  and  the  king  asked  if  I  would  resume  my  old 
position.  I  thanked  His  Majesty  for  this  fresh  proof  of 
benevolence,  but  observed  that  if  I  accepted  I  should 
have  to  resign  my  military  command,  and  that  on  the 
morrow  of  so  unfortunate  a  campaign  I  did  not  think  I 
was  justified  to  do  so  in  order  to  take  a  pleasant  and 
honourable  position.  I  reminded  the  king  that  some 
years  before,  at  Naples,  he  had  insisted  on  my  retaining 
the  command  when  I  wished  to  follow  him  to  Turin,  say- 
ing that  he  was  as  jealous  of  my  military  reputation  as  I 
was  myself,  and  would  not  allow  me  to  quit  a  position  in 
which  he  was  kind  enough  to  say  I  rendered  good  service. 
Now  circumstances  were  more  serious,  and  I  could  not 
leave  my  position  of  military  commander  on  active  service 
for  the  attractive  post  of  his  first  aide-de-camp.  The  king 
remained  silent  for  a  moment,  then  jumped  up  and  shook 
my  hand,  saying,  M  Pa  rason.^'^  But  his  voice  had  a 
tone  of  regret  which  touched  me. 

The  king  entered  Venice  on  the  7th  November,  amid 
such  frantic  enthusiasm  that  he  was  visibly  moved.  I 
doubt  whether  any  sovereign  was  ever  so  heartily  cheered 
as  Victor  Emanuel  between  1859  and  1870. 

According  to  the  treaty  of  September  1864  the  French 
troops  evacuated  Rome  about  two  months  after  the  peace 

^  '  You  are  right.' 


MARRIAGE  OF  PRINCE  AMADEUS       275 

of  Vienna,  and  Ricasoli  was  treating  with  the  Holy  See  on 
the  lines  laid  down  by  Cavour — a  free  Church  in  a  free  State. 
Through  my  brother  Frederick,  who  was  on  a  secret  mission 
to  the  pontifical  government,  Pius  IX.  sent  affectionate 
messages  to  the  king,  who  thought  he  might  obtain  better 
terms  from  the  Pope  than  his  government  could  hope  for. 
But  the  Holy  Father's  benevolence  was  confined  to  words, 
and  a  few  slight  concessions  regarding  the  vacant  bishops' 
sees.  Ricasoli  was  most  anxious  to  come  to  some  under- 
standing, and  made  large  financial  concessions  in  the 
hope  of  tempting  the  Pope  and  the  clergy.  Although 
the  negotiations  were  secret,  some  information  had  leaked 
out,  and  raised  a  storm  of  discontent  in  the  Chambers  and 
the  country.  The  Venetians  were  particularly  violent,  and 
the  ministry  suspended  public  meetings  in  Venetia.  But 
hostile  manifestations  still  continued,  and  in  February 
Ricasoli  dissolved  the  Chambers.  The  new  elections 
(lOth  March)  greatly  increased  the  power  of  the  Opposi- 
tion ;  Ricasoli  fell,  Cialdini  attempted  in  vain  to  form  a 
ministry,  and  Victor  Emanuel  then  called  in  Rattazzi, 
who  in  a  few  days  succeeded  in  presenting  to  the  king  a 
Cabinet,  culled  from  every  party  in  Parliament. 

In  the  spring  of  1868  the  advocate  Cassinis,  an  honest 
man,  who  had  been  a  minister  of  the  crown  several  times, 
and  was  a  devoted  adherent  of  the  royal  family,  and  a 
friend  of  the  family  Pozzo  della  Cisterna,  suggested  a 
marriage  between  Prince  Amadeus,  second  son  of  the 
king,  and  the  only  daughter  and  heiress  of  Prince  della 
Cisterna.  The  two  young  people  were  engaged  for  two 
months,  and  married  at  Turin  on  the  30th  May.  My  wife 
was  ill  at  Florence,  so  I  was  not  at  the  marriage,  and  next 
(lay  we  heard  the  sad  news  of  the  sudden  death  of  Count 
di  Castiglione.  Verasis  di  Castiglione  was  my  wife's  first 
cousin,  and  our  intimate  friend.  He  had  just  been  named 
first  equerry  and  director  of  the  royal  stables,  and  con- 


276      AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A    VETERAN 

sidered  it  his  duty  to  accompany  the  royal  princes  from 
Turin  to  the  castle  of  Stupinigi,  where  they  were  to  pass 
the  honeymoon.  Just  before  reaching  the  castle  Castiglione 
was  seized  with  a  fit  of  apoplexy,  and  fell  dead  from  his 
horse,  almost  under  the  wheels  of  the  carriage.  He  was 
the  husband  of  the  beautiful  countess  so  well  known  under 
the  Second  Empire,  and  was  still  passionately  in  love 
with  her,  although  they  had  been  separated  for  several 
years. 


CHAPTER    XXVI 
I 867- I 870 

Garibaldi  preaches  Rebellion,  is  Imprisoned,  then  sent  to  Caprera — Escapes 
and  beats  the  Papal  Troops  at  Monte  Rotondo — Mentana — Marriage 
of  Prince  Humbert  and  Princess  Margaret  of  Savoy — Alarming  Illness 
of  the  King — Birth  of  the  Prince  of  Naples — Rome,  Capital  of  Italy. 

In  the  spring  of  1867  Garibaldi  was  in  Tuscany,  preaching 
rebellion  against  the  government,  which,  he  believed,  had 
an  understanding  with  the  Pope,  and  urging  the  people  to 
elect  deputies  capable  of  leading  the  Italians  to  Rome. 
His  language  was  so  violent  that  it  became  absolutely 
necessary  to  arrest  him.  He  was  taken  to  Alessandria 
and  imprisoned  in  the  fortress ;  but  this  raised  such  a 
storm  of  protests,  and  increased  the  unpopularity  of  Rattazzi 
to  such  an  extent,  that  Garibaldi  was  released  from  prison 
and  sent  to  Caprera,  escorted  by  several  ships  of  war, 
which  remained  to  watch  the  island. 

Notwithstanding  the  absence  of  Garibaldi,  volunteers 
continued  to  assemble  on  the  pontifical  frontier.  The 
French  government  sent  a  note  to  remind  the  Italian 
government  of  the  conditions  of  the  Convention  of  Sep- 
tember 1864,  which  imposed  upon  France  the  duty  of 
protecting  the  frontiers  of  the  Papal  dominions.  Not 
receiving  an  immediate  answer,  the  emperor  despatched 
troops  to  Toulon  to  embark  on  the  fleet  destined  for 
Civitavecchia.     Rattazzi  had  delayed  his  answer,  trying  to 

277 


278      AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A    VETERAN 

strike  a  balance  on  the  Roman  question  between  the 
observance  of  the  treaty  and  the  wishes  of  the  nation. 
Encouraged  by  the  example  of  Cavour  in  i860,  when  no 
convention  existed  between  France  and  Italy,  he  secretly 
protected  Garibaldi.  It  was  also  said  that  his  wife,  a 
cousin  of  the  emperor's,  wrote  from  Paris  that  he  need  pay 
no  attention  to  the  threats,  which  were  only  made  to 
satisfy  public  opinion  in  France.  Rattazzi,  as  I  have  said, 
treated  the  first  French  despatch  as  of  no  account,  and 
contented  himself  with  declaring  in  Parliament  that  the 
government  had  no  intention  of  violating  the  Conven- 
tion of  September,  but  he  took  no  measures  against  the 
invading  bands. 

Then  came  the  news  that  Garibaldi  had  escaped  from 
Caprera  and  was  in  Tuscany,  and,  immediately  afterwards, 
that  the  emperor  had  ordered  his  fleet  to  start  for  Civita- 
vecchia. Victor  Emanuel  understood  the  danger,  dis- 
missed the  Rattazzi  ministry  and  wrote  to  the  emperor, 
to  assure  him  that  the  Convention  should  be  respected. 
Napoleon  thereupon  suspended  the  departure  of  the  fleet, 
and  awaited  the  end  of  the  crisis. 

Cialdini  was  charged  with  the  formation  of  a  new 
ministry,  but,  wishing  to  please  all  parties,  was  so  slow 
that,  after  a  week,  the  king  lost  patience,  and  took  matters 
into  his  own  hands.  In  twenty-four  hours  his  chief  aide- 
de-camp^  had  made  a  ministry,  of  which  Gualterio  and 
Cambray-Digny  formed  part.  But  precious  time  had  been 
lost,  and  it  was  too  late.  The  volunteers  had  crossed  the 
frontier.  Garibaldi  had  passed  through  Florence,  and,  join- 
ing his  followers  at  Monte  Rotondo,  had  beaten  the  Papal 
troops.  Victor  Emanuel  issued  a  proclamation  to  protest 
against  their  action  ;  but  meanwhile  the  French  troops  had 
disembarked  at  Civitavecchia,  with  orders  to  attack  the 
invaders  of  the  Pontifical  territory.  We  were  then  forced 
^General  Menabrea. 


MENTANA  279 

to  send  our  troops  across  the  confines  'to  assist  in  re- 
establishing order  and  law!  Everyone  knows  how  it  ended. 
Caught  between  two  fires,  the  Papal  troops  on  one  side 
and  the  French  chassepots  on  the  other,  the  Garibaldians 
were  beaten  at  Mentana.  Doggedly  faithful  to  his  pro- 
gramme, which  was  not  that  of  September,  Garibaldi 
crossed  the  frontier,  was  arrested,  and  taken  first  to  the 
fortress  of  Varignano,  and  then  to  Caprera,  under  strict 
surveillance. 

1868  and  1869  were  uneventful  years  in  the  foreign 
politics  of  Italy.  The  French  continued  to  hold  Civita- 
vecchia, thus,  in  fact,  abrogating  the  Convention  of  Sep- 
tember. Relations  between  the  two  countries  became 
strained  ;  the  chassepots  qui  avaient  fait  merveilles  against 
untrained  and  undisciplined  youths  certainly  did  not  do 
merveilles  in  favour  of  French  interests.  The  bitter  and 
imperious  words  of  certain  ministers  of  the  emperor — 
*  Que  les  Italiens  nauraient  jamais  Rome!  and  '  Que  le 
drapeau  frangais Jlotterait  toujours  sur  le  Vatican' — had  the 
natural  result  that,  when  France  was  at  war  with  Prussia 
in  1870,  she  no  longer  found  in  Italy  the  ally  she  might 
reasonably  have  counted  upon  between  1859  to  1867. 

In  spite  of  ministerial  changes  Menabrea  remained 
President  of  the  Council  until  the  last  days  of  1869.  The 
financial  question  was  always  the  difficulty.  Italy  was 
made,  and  had  been  on  the  eve  of  conquering  her  capital. 
But  it  had  cost  money.  Every  year  showed  a  deficit  of 
several  millions,  and  during  those  years  the  unpopular 
laws  of  Ferrari,  Cambray-Digny  and  Sella  were  proposed 
and  passed — the  tobacco  monopoly,  the  grist  tax,  the  tax 
on  the  public  funds,  etc.,  etc. 

On  22d  April  1868  the  heir  to  the  throne  married  his 
cousin,  the  young  Princess  of  Savoy,  daughter  of  the  Duke 
of  Genova  and  the  Princess  Elizabeth  of  Saxony.  The 
marriage   was    extremely    popular,   especially    in    Turin, 


<j8o      autobiography  of  a    VETERAN 

where  Princess  Margaret — handsome,  good  and  intelligent 
-. — was  adored.  Her  departure  was  a  great  loss  to  my 
daughters,  who  were  companions  of  the  young  princess. 
The  following  year  my  eldest  daughter  married  Count 
Francesetti  di  Hautecoeur,  lieutenant  in  the  Piacenza 
Hussars. 

Towards  the  end  of  1869  the  king  was  ill  at  San 
Rossore  (near  Pisa).  The  symptoms  were  so  alarming 
that  His  Majesty  asked  for  the  last  sacraments,  Menabrea 
sent  at  once  to  the  Archbishop  of  Pisa  to  request  him  to 
send  a  priest  with  the  viaticum.  The  Archbishop  sent  a 
young  priest,  with  orders  to  read  a  declaration  to  the  king, 
and  obtain  his  signature  to  it  before  granting  absolution. 
This  was  nothing  less  than  a  formal  retractation  of  all  the 
acts  committed  during  the  reign  of  Victor  Emanuel 
contrary  to  the  rights  of  the  Holy  See.  But  the  king,  who 
was  perfectly  conscious,  and  preserved  his  strength  of 
mind,  refused  to  sign,  on  the  plea  that  it  was  a  public  act, 
which  he  could  only  sign  in  the  presence  of  his  ministers. 
'  The  prime  minister  is  in  the  next  room,'  he  said,  '  go  and 
show  him  the  paper.'  Agitated  and  trembling,  the  young 
priest  obeyed.  Menabrea,  furiously  angry,  threatened  to 
have  him  arrested  and  put  in  prison  if  he  persisted  in 
refusing  absolution,  as  the  law  punishes  severely  any 
attempt  to  coerce  the  conscience  of  a  dying  person.  The 
priest,  thoroughly  frightened,  returned  to  the  room  of  the 
king  who  received  absolution  and  the  last  sacrament  in 
the  presence  of  the  heir-apparent,  of  the  Prince  of 
Carignano,  of  the  Countess  Mirafiore  (to  whom  he  had 
been  privately  married  a  short  time  before),  of  Menabrea, 
and  of  a  few  of  the  high  officials  of  the  Court.  A  few 
days  later  Princess  Margaret  gave  birth  in  Naples  to  a 
son,  who  was  named  Victor  Emanuel,  and  received  the 
title  of  Prince  of  Naples. 

The    new    session    opened    with    a    series   of  hostile 


BIRTH  OF  PRINCE  OF  NAPLES  281 

demonstrations  against  the  ministry,  once  more  re-formed 
under  Menabrea,  The  government  put  forward  Adrian 
Mari  as  their  nominee  for  the  presidency  of  the  Chamber, 
but  he  was  beaten  by  a  lar^e  majority  by  G.  Lanza.  In  such 
cases,  which  are  rare,  Parliamentary  custom  demands  that 
the  new  president  of  the  Chambers  should  be  called  to 
form  a  ministry.  The  king  had  only  just  returned  from 
San  Rossore ;  he  was  still  unwell,  and  regretted  the  fall  of 
Menabrea.  Instead  of  receiving  Lanza  at  once,  he  sent 
to  propose  various  combinations  for  the  new  ministry,  in 
which  he  desired  to  have,  if  not  Menabrea,  at  all  events 
Gualterio  and  Cambray-Digny.  Lanza  refused  to  accept 
any  suggestions,  and  diflficulties  arose,  which  prolonged  the 
abnormal  situation. 

Just  at  this  time  I  was  summoned  to  Florence  by  the 
illness  of  my  brother  Frederick,  prefect  of  the  palace. 
Lanza  had  just  seen  the  king,  and  told  him  frankly  that 
the  majority  in  the  Chambers  was  against  Menabrea,  and 
that  he  could  not  undertake  to  form  a  ministry  in  which 
any  member  of  the  Court  entered.  He  quoted  the 
example  of  England,  the  model  constitutional  kingdom, 
where  not  only  men  filling  positions  about  the  Court  were 
debarred  from  becoming  ministers,  but  even  the  high 
Court  officials  were  changed  with  the  change  of  parties. 
Lanza  therefore  declared  that  he  felt  constrained  to 
decline  the  mandate,  unless  the  king  removed  from  his 
Court  the  three  high  officials  who  had  been  in  the  late 
ministry — Menabrea,  Gualterio  and  Cambray-Digny. 
Victor  Emanuel  demanded  two  days  for  reflection,  and 
then  acceded  to  the  request ;  and  Lanza  at  once  formed  his 
ministry. 

In  January  my  brother  Frederick  died,  aged  only  54, 
and  I  returned  to  Turin,  where  my  wife  and  daughters 
(Countess  Francesetti  was  there  with  her  husband)  did  all 
they  could  to  mitigate  my  sorrow.     The  following  May 


282      AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  A    VETERAN 

she  augmented  our  family  by  a  baby  girl,  called  Margaret 
after  the  Crown  Princess,  who  was  her  godmother.  The 
baby  has  in  her  turn  grown  up,  is  married  to  Colonel 
di  Robilant,  and  has  made  me  a  great  grandfather. 

When  the  high  military  commands  were  abolished  in 
1867  I  was  asked  to  say  what  post,  suitable  to  my 
seniority  and  rank,  I  wished  for.  I  replied  by  placing 
myself  unreservedly  at  the  disposition  of  the  government 
for  any  military  service  they  considered  me  capable  of. 
A  few  months  later  the  minister  of  war  offered  me  the 
command  of  the  troops  in  the  southern  provinces.  But 
the  impressions  received  in  1861  had  been  too  strong. 
I  remembered  the  impossibility  of  obtaining  men  and 
money,  without  which  it  was  impossible  to  attempt  to 
cope  with  the  brigandage  which  still  infested  the  country, 
and  I  refused.  My  occupations  were  therefore  reduced  to 
the  presidency  of  the  military  order  of  Savoy,  and  my 
work  on  the  commission  for  the  defence  of  the  State.  In 
1867  I  was  occupied  with  the  defence  of  the  frontiers  of 
the  Venetian  provinces,  in  1868  with  those  of  Naples,  and 
in  1870  with  the  fortifications  of  Rome.  I  went  to  Rome 
a  month  after  the  entry  of  our  troops,  and  was  joined  by 
my  wife  and  second  daughter.  We  were  caught  by  a 
great  inundation  of  the  Tiber,  and  for  two  days  could  not 
get  out  of  the  Hotel  de  Rome  in  Piazza  S.  Carlo.  The 
officers  of  the  commission  fished  for  and  caught  two  or 
three  tables  as  they  whirled  past  our  first  floor  windows, 
and  cleverly  used  them  as  rafts.  They  went  to  the  Piazza 
di  Spagna  and  other  dry  spots,  and  brought  us  back  the 
news. 

The  plebiscite  in  Rome  and  in  the  province,  in  favour 
of  annexation  to  Italy,  had  taken  place  a  few  days  before 
our  arrival,  and  Michelangelo  Caetani,  Duke  of  Ser- 
monata,  went  at  the  head  of  a  deputation  to  Florence  to 
announce   it   to   the  king.     The   Parliamentary   elections 


ROME,  CAPITAL  OF  ITALY  283 

took  place  in  November,  and  on  the  5th,  for  the  first  time, 
Roman  deputies  took  their  seats  in  the  Italian  Chambers. 
The  day  before,  the  4th,  the  king  received  at  Pitti  Palace 
the  deputation  of  the  Cortes,  which  came  to  offer  the 
crown  of  Spain  to  his  second  son,  Prince  Amadeus,  Duke 
of  Aosta.  The  transfer  of  the  Parliament  and  government 
from  Florence  to  Rome  was  to  take  place  in  June  1871, 
when  the  Quirinal  would  be  ready  to  receive  the  royal 
family.  There  was  a  great  difference  of  opinion  between 
Lanza  and  Sella  as  to  the  best  time  for  the  king  to  visit 
the  capital.  Sella  wanted  him  to  go  at  once.  Where  His 
Majesty  would  have  lodged,  I  know  not.  Lanza  insisted 
that  the  king  should  not  precede  the  government  and  the 
Parliament.  He  threatened  to  resign  if  his  opinion  was 
overruled,  and  Victor  Emanuel  was  reluctantly  about  to 
give  way  when  the  inundation  cut  the  gordian  knot,  inspir- 
ing him  with  the  happy  idea  of  going  amongst  his  new 
subjects  in  their  time  of  trouble.  He  arrived  in  Rome 
early  in  the  morning,  visited,  amid  the  hearty  cheers  of 
the  people,  the  parts  of  the  city  which  had  suffered  the 
most  and  left  late  in  the  evening  for  Florence. 

In  January  my  wife  and  daughter  went  to  pass  some 
time  in  Florence,  where  they  met  Baron  G.  Sonnino,  who, 
in  April,  became  engaged  to  my  daughter  Helen.  They 
were  married  at  Turin  in  September,  twenty-two  years 
after  my  own  marriage.  My  military  career  and  my  func- 
tions as  father  of  a  family  ceased  almost  at  the  same  time. 
I  was  consoled  by  the  birth  of  five  grandchildren,  who 
have  been  the  joy  and  delight  of  my  old  age. 


TO  THE   READER 

When  in  October  1896  my  husband  dictated  the  last 
chapter  of  his  memoirs,  and  declared  the  work  was  finished, 
the  whole  family  protested.  We  endeavoured  to  persuade 
him  that  his  grandchildren  and  his  great-grandchildren 
would  be  but  ill-satisfied  at  his  biography  being  brought 
to  a  close  without  giving  any  account  of  the  years  between 
1 87 1  and  1896.  The  general  thought  to  silence  us  by 
saying,  *  A  happy  nation  has  no  history.  During  these 
twenty-five  years  I  have  been  a  happy  man,  and  therefore 
have  nothing  to  narrate.' 

'One  of  those  years,  1878,  was  an  unhappy  one,'  we 
objected ;  '  and  you  must  say  in  what  a  grandfather's 
happiness  consists.  It  will  be  a  great  joy  to  the  children, 
and  also  redound  to  the  honour  of  those  who  have  made 
you  happy.'  He  smiled  and  answered,  '  Very  well ;  I 
will  talk  about  my  family,  and  then  ? '  '  Your  agricultural 
pursuits,  your  wine-making,  the  Institute  for  Soldiers' 
Daughters,  which  has  been  your  second  family.'  Thus, 
little  by  little,  we  arranged  the  plan  of  our  work.  But 
the  autumn  chills  of  Luserna  drove  us  to  the  home  of 
our  second  daughter  in  Tuscany ;  and  then  we  went  to 
Rome  to  stay  with  our  eldest  daughter.  Everyone  wanted 
to  read  the  autobiography,  and  then  declared  it  must 
be  published.  The  general  was,  however,  so  averse  to 
making  public  what  had  been  written  solely  for  the  family 
that  we  were  obliged  to  come  to  a  compromise,  and 
content  ourselves  with  the  permission  to  publish  the  first 
volume  only. 

The  correction  of  the  proofs  kept  us  busy  during  the 


TO  THE  READER  285 

winter  of  1897,  and  the  epilogue,  already  commenced,  was 
laid  aside.  My  husband  was  then  in  excellent  health  ;  the 
pages  were  read  and  re-read  to  him,  and  he  suppressed  or 
added  paragraphs  with  perfect  clearness  of  intellect.  The 
first  volume  appeared  on  the  20th  June,  the  general's 
ninetieth  birthday,  and  had  an  immediate  success,  so  much 
so,  that  a  hostile  paper  called  it  the  *  Idol  of  the  Day.' 

Twenty-two  days  afterwards,  at  Lusema,  I  read  him  a 
letter  from  the  publisher,  saying  that  the  first  edition  was 
exhausted,  and  asking  leave  to  publish  a  second — a  popular 
edition.  The  general  was  not  well ;  he  was  in  the  garden, 
where  he  had  passed  the  day  under  the  trees,  and  his  chair 
had  just  been  drawn  into  the  open  in  order  that  he  might 
enjoy  the  last  rays  of  the  setting  sun.  I  see  him  now,  his 
head  resting  on  his  hand,  and  his  elbow  on  the  arm  of  his 
chair,  as  with  half-playful,  half-sceptical  smile,  he  said, 
•  Well,  I  suppose  now  I  must  believe  it  is  a  success. 
Money  is  not  words.  If  the  publisher  is  satisfied  with  the 
sale  of  the  book,  it  means  that  people  like  it.* 

A  few  days  later  the  illness  from  which  he  had  been 
suffering  for  some  weeks  made  rapid  progress,  and  a 
month  later,  on  the  12th  August,  he  passed  from  the  arms 
of  his  dear  ones  to  those  of  God.  Eight  months  have 
elapsed.  With  a  sad  heart,  I  must  finish  alone  the  epilogue 
we  began  together. 

COUNTESS  IRENE  DELLA  ROCCA 


EPI  LOGUE 

1871-1893 

The  last  twenty-five  years  of  the  life  of  General  Henry 
Delia  Rocca,  from  1872  to  1897,  may  be  described  in  a  few 
lines  by  amplifying  a  saying  of  his  on  his  return  to  Luserna 
after  the  unfortunate  campaign  of  1866: — The  month  of 
October  spent  among  my  dear  ones  passed  like  a  single 
cloudless  day.' 

They  were  calm  and  peaceful  years,  clouded  only  by 
the  disappearance  of  one  or  another  of  those  to  whom  he 
had  dedicated  the  devotion  of  a  lifetime  or  a  brotherly 
friendship.  The  friends  of  his  youth  had  been  dead  for 
years,  and  this  last  period  of  his  life  was  saddened  by  the 
loss  of  many  he  loved,  and  who  were  much  younger  than 
himself;  above  all,  by  the  death  of  King  Victor  Emanuel, 
whose  character  and  disposition  he  probably  knew  better 
than  anyone,  and  to  whom  he  was  absolutely  devoted. 

Between  1870  and  1880  five  grandchildren  were  born  to 
us — four  girls  and  a  boy.  The  children  loved  him  dearly, 
for  he  knew  how  to  make  himself  a  child  with  children. 
One  day,  when  past  seventy,  I  found  him  in  the  garden 
teaching  the  little  girls  how  to  skip.  He  was  showing  them 
how  to  make  the  rope  pass  twice  under  one's  feet  in  one 
skip,  and  did  it  again  and  again  with  extraordinary  agility 
for  his  age. 

As  an  outlet  for  his  energy  and  vigour  he  took  to  farm- 
ing, or,  rather,  vine-growing,  in  1869  and  1870.  On  a  small 
scale,  it  is  true,  but  with  as  much  zeal  as  though  the  yield 

286 


EPILOGUE  287 

of  that  small  piece  of  land  was  icx),ooo  francs  instead  of 
1000  or  2000. 

Between  1870  and  1880,  in  obedience  to  my  often- 
expressed  wish,  the  general  began  to  write  down  his 
memories.  On  loose  sheets  of  paper  he  noted  down  an 
episode,  an  event,  or  a  biography  of  some  illustrious  per- 
sonage he  had  known,  and  threw  them  into  a  drawer  with- 
out date  or  order.  He  consigned  them  all  to  me  in  1884, 
when  he  ceased  to  write,  and  they  were  very  useful  when, 
in  1893,  he  began  to  dictate  his  memoirs.  It  is  a  comfort 
to  me  to  think  that  this  occupation  was  an  amusement  to 
him.  We  lived  the  old  days  over  again  together,  and  called 
up  memories  of  beloved  friends.  He  was  proud  of  his 
excellent  memory,  narrated  simply  and  ingenuously,  and 
his  descriptions  were  so  graphic  that  one  saw  the  people 
and  heard  them  talk.  Of  himself  he  talked  without  osten- 
tation or  exaggerated  modesty,  describing  what  he  had 
done  and  why  he  did  it,  and  all  he  had  seen  and  thought, 
never  thinking  that  his  words  would  be  read  outside  his 
own  family. 

The  general  was  one  of  the  promoters  of  the  National 
Institute  for  Soldiers'  Daughters,  and  worked  hard  as  vice- 
president  from  1867,  when  it  was  founded,  until  1874,  when 
he  was  named  president,  an  office  he  kept  till  his  death. 

1878  was  the  saddest,  or,  rather,  the  only  sad,  year  of 
the  last  period  of  the  life  of  General  Delia  Rocca.  It  opened 
with  the  death  of  Alphonse  La  Marmora  and  alarming 
rumours  about  the  health  of  the  king.  The  general  at  once 
left  for  Rome,  but  arrived  too  late  to  see  Victor  Emanuel 
alive.  On  receiving  my  husband's  telegram  I  at  once 
joined  him  at  Rome.  Sad  and  miserable  were  the  days 
we  spent  at  the  hotel,  and  saddest  of  all  the  nth  January, 
the  day  of  the  funeral.  I  assisted  my  husband  to  put  on 
his  uniform,  covered  with  medals  and  decorations,  and 
observed  that  he  was  deadly  pale.     I  was  unhappy  and 


288  EPILOGUE 

anxious,  knowing  what  his  feelings  were,  and  would  be, 
during  the  long  ceremony  and  slow  march  beside  the  coffin, 
for  he,  as  doyen  of  the  Order  of  the  Annunziata,  was  one  of 
the  pall-bearers. 

We  stayed  a  few  days  in  Rome  to  tender  our  condol- 
ences and  do  homage  to  the  new  king  and  queen.  Just  as 
we  were  starting  for  Turin  the  general  was  informed  that 
he  had  been  designated  as  ambassador  extraordinary  to 
Paris  and  London  to  announce  the  death  of  Victor 
Emanuel  and  the  advent  to  the  throne  of  Humbert  I., 
On  our  way  to  Turin  he  asked  me  to  go  with  him,  as 
none  of  the  officers  of  the  Embassy  knew  English. 

At  the  Elys^e  the  general  met  two  companions-at-arms 
of  1859  —  MacMahon,  President  of  the  Republic,  and 
Marshal  Canrobert.  Canrobert  told  him  it  was  the  first 
time  he  had  dined  at  the  Elys6e,  though  often  invited,  and 
that  he  had  accepted  only  to  meet  him  and  hear  about  the 
last  years  of  Victor  Emanuel. 

We  waited  several  days  in  London,  as  the  Queen  had 
gone  to  the  Isle  of  Wight ;  and  on  her  return  we  were  in- 
vited to  Windsor  for  two  days.  The  Queen  spoke  several 
times  to  the  general  about  Victor  Emanuel,  whose  name 
had  become  the  centre  of  a  sort  of  heroic  and  popular 
legend,  in  which,  as  in  all  legends,  some  truth  was  mixed 
with  fiction.  Her  Most  Gracious  Majesty,  as  they  call  the 
Queen  in  England,  asked  particularly  about  the  events  of 
the  last  twenty  years,  and  courteously  recalled  having  seen 
the  general  in  1855,  when  the  king  was  in  England.  She 
ordered  a  picture  of  the  military  review  given  in  his  honour, 
and  sent  it  to  Turin  as  a  present  to  my  husband.  With 
me  she  talked  of  Queen  Adelaide,  and  made  many  in- 
quiries about  young  Queen  Margaret,  for  whom  she  gave 
me  two  richly-bound  volumes — The  Life  of  the  Prince 
Consort,  written  by  herself 

In  1 88 1  a  friend  persuaded  the  general  to  send  some  of 


EPILOGUE  289 

his  grapes  and  samples  of  his  wine  to  a  viticultural  exhi- 
bition at  Pinerolo.  I  seem  to  see  his  happy  face  on  the 
arrival  of  a  diploma  of  merit ;  I  really  think  it  gave  him 
more  pleasure  than  all  the  ribbons  and  decorations  he  had 
received  from  the  principal  European  Courts.  To  these 
he  attached  little  importance,  he  only  valued  his  war 
medals  and  the  decorations  given  for  services  rendered 
to  his  country. 

In  1 887,  when  he  was  eighty  years  old,  though  he  still  read 
without  glasses,  his  sight  began  to  fail.  Incipient  cataract, 
which  never  came  to  maturity,  declared  itself,  and  glasses 
were  of  no  avail.  Blindness  came  on  gradually,  but  never 
became  total ;  so  to  the  last  he  had  the  comfort  of  seeing 
the  light,  especially  the  sun.  How  he  waited  for  it !  How 
he  enjoyed  it !  He  begged  that  his  shutters  might  be  left 
open  in  order  to  see  the  sun  rise;  he  welcomed  it  every 
morning  with  fresh  delight,  because  it  told  him  that  he 
was  not  totally  blind.  His  great  amusement  at  Rome 
was  to  hear  the  first  news  from  Montecitorio,  the  Con- 
sulta,  Palazzo  Braschi  and  Palazzo  Madama.  He  waited 
with  evident  impatience  for  the  evening  paper,  and  still 
more  for  the  friends  and  some  of  the  deputies  who  came  to 
tell  him  the  news  of  the  day.  During  the  last  twenty-five 
years  of  his  life  he  followed  the  vicissitudes  of  his  country 
and  the  acts  of  our  sovereigns  with  the  deepest  interest, 
and  delighted  in  the  popularity  of  the  young  princes.  The 
last  paper  that  was  read  to  him,  on  the  9th  August  1897, 
contained  the  news  that  the  Count  of  Turin  was  going 
to  vindicate  the  outraged  honour  of  Italians,  and  he 
exclaimed,  '  Bravo  !  Bravissimo  ! '  His  good  wishes  may 
have  brought  good  luck  to  the  young  prince. 

And  now  it  may  be  permitted  to  her  who  passed  forty- 
eight  years  by  his  side,  and  knew  how  frank  and  upright 
was  his  character,  and  how  kind  and  good  his  heart,  to  say 
how  he  practised  the  philosophy  of  life.     He  liked  neither 

T 


290  EPILOGUE 

the  name  nor  the  abstract  science  of  philosophy,  and  often 
playfully  rallied  me  on  my  taste  for  metaphysical  reading. 
'  Philosophy,  my  dear,  is  to  be  practised,  not  read,'  he 
would  say;  and  he  did  practise  it.  He  never  exaggerated 
the  misfortunes  and  ills  of  this  life,  but  bore  them,  not  with 
passive  resignation,  but  with  courage  and  serenity — Loetus 
in  fronte  and  loetus  in  pectore — during  the  twenty  years 
when  he  lived  forgotten  at  Turin  and  Luserna,  and  during 
the  three  last  years,  when  his  residence  at  Rome,  so  to 
speak,  exhumed  him  from  oblivion,  and  when  his  presence 
in  the  Senate  and  at  the  Quirinal  reminded  people  that 
the  veteran  of  1848  and  1849  was  still  alive.  He  carried  it 
out  when,  in  May  1897,  he  strolled  down  the  Corso  with  his 
grand-daughter  on  his  arm,  to  take  his  customary  glass  of 
vermouth,  or  go  for  flowers  to  bring  home ;  and  when  he 
sat  in  the  rocking-chair,  singing  old  Piedmontese  songs  to 
himself,  and  smoking  his  cigar. 

He  was  so  absolutely  truthful  that  his  word  could 
never  be  doubted.  People  who  only  saw  him  once  or 
twice,  or  at  long  intervals,  thought  him  cold,  because  he 
was  reserved,  and  had  an  aversion  to  paying  compliments 
or  saying  what  he  did  not  feel.  But  they  were  wrong;  he 
was  often  silent  to  hide  his  emotion.  This  frankness,  which 
in  youth  may  have  been  a  drawback,  stood  him  in  good 
stead  with  Victor  Emanuel,  who  appreciated  the  truth 
spoken  opportunely  and  for  a  good  reason,  as  he  appre- 
ciated that  practical  good  sense,  so  much  like  his  own. 

To  find  a  man  so  devoid  of  egoism  as  was  the  general 
is  rare.  He  always  thought  of  others  first ;  and  although 
in  the  last  years  of  his  life  he  disliked  any  change  in  his 
habits,  he  was  ready  to  do  anything  he  thought  would  be 
for  the  good  or  the  pleasure  of  those  about  him. 

On  1 2th  August  1897  he  received  the  last  sacraments, 
and  died  in  his  villa  at  Luserna,  sitting  in  his  favourite 
armchair,  calm  and  silent,  with  the  sad  look  of  one  who 


EPILOGUE  291 

deeply  feels  and  sorrows  over  the  separation  from  all  his 
beloved  ones,  whose  warm  affection  he  felt  till  the  last. 

The  body  was  taken  to  Turin,  to  the  house  he  had 
lived  in  for  more  than  forty  years,  and  on  i6th  August — 
a  sad,  rainy  morning — it  was  carried  to  the  church  on  a 
gun-carriage,  followed  by  the  troops  in  garrison  and  car- 
riages laden  with  wreaths.  Thence  it  was  taken  to  the 
cemetery  of  Turin,  placed  in  a  temporary  sarcophagus, 
raised  above  ground  like  those  of  the  ancients.  The  face 
was  turned  towards  the  hill  of  Superga,  where  rests  the 
great  initiator  of  the  independence  and  unity  of  Italy,  his 
wife  Maria  Theresa,  and  the  gentle  and  saintly  Queen  Maria 
Adelaide,  wife  of  the  hero  who  sleeps  in  the  Pantheon. 

I  must  not  lay  down  my  pen  without  fulfilling  a 
wish  my  husband  expressed  five  years  since,  on  an  April 
morning  in  1893.  He  was  still  in  bed,  dictating  the  auto- 
biography with  such  rapidity  that  I  could  scarcely  follow 
him.  The  arrival  of  the  morning  papers,  describing  the 
rejoicings  on  the  occasion  of  the  silver  wedding  of  the 
king  and  queen,  interrupted  us.  When  in  Rome,  in  March, 
we  had  presented  our  congratulations  to  their  majesties 
for  the  coming  anniversary,  and  had  been  asked  to  dine 
privately  at  the  Quirinal.  Afterwards  the  queen  and  the 
prince  questioned  the  general  about  the  customs  of  the 
old  Piedmontese  Court,  which  he  had  known  so  well.  The 
general  listened  while  I  read  the  description  of  the  beauty, 
the  grace,  the  triumphs  of  Queen  Margaret,  who  attracted 
all  eyes  amid  the  queens  and  princesses  assembled  to  cele- 
brate the  silver  wedding,  and  then  said,  '  Some  day,  per- 
haps, when  I  am  gone,  the  queen  may  like  to  read  my  old 
stories.  Were  I  a  poet  or  a  literary  man,  capable  of  com- 
posing a  fine  dedication,  I  would  dedicate  these  pages  to 
her ;  but  I  do  not  know  how  to  say  what  I  feel.  Please, 
however,  put  on  record  that  to-day,  23d  April  1893,  he 


292  EPILOGUE 

who  was  sent  to  Saxony  to  ask  the  hand  of  her  mother, 
the  Princess  Elizabeth,  for  the  Duke  of  Genova,  and  who 
the  following  year  was  among  the  first  to  see  the  infant 
girl,  sends  her  a  greeting  and  a  hurrah  on  the  occasion  of 
her  silver  wedding ;  proclaims  her  the  most  popular,  the 
most  graceful  and  gracious  of  reigning  queens,  and  himself 
the  most  affectionate  admirer  and  devoted  subject  of  the 
Queen  of  Italy,  as  he  was  of  the  youthful  Princess  Margaret 
of  Savoy.' 


INDEX 


Albert,  Archduke  of  Austria,  256, 
260  ;  returns  to  Italy  after  Sadowa, 
266. 

Prince    (the    Prince    Consort), 

121. 

Amadeus,  Duke  of  Aosta,  246 ; 
wounded  at  Custoza,  250,  259 
(note) ;  marriage  of,  275  ;  crown 
of  Spain  offered  to,  283. 

Angouleme,  Due  d',  23  (and  note),  24. 

Antonelli,  Cardinal,  182. 

Aosta,  Duchess  of.  See  Maria  Theresa 
of  Este. 

Austrians,  the,  turned  out  of  Milan, 
53  ;  retire  towards  the  Adige,  57  ; 
driven  back  to  Pastrengo,  58,  59, 
60  ;  driven  across  the  Adige,  61, 
63,  64 ;  attempt  to  turn  our  right 
at  Goito,  72  ;  withdraw,  73,  75  ; 
number  of,  77  ;  occupy  hills 
opposite  Villafranca,  80 ;  take 
Duke  of  Savoy's  position  at  Cus- 
toza, 82 ;  repulse  De  Sonnaz  at 
Volta,  83,  85;  in  Milan,  89  (and 
note),  90,  93  ;  cross  the  Ticino,  94, 
98 ;  occupy  halfof  the  citadel  of  Ales- 
sandria, 108 ;  evacuate  the  kingdom 
of  Sardinia,  109  ;  said  to  number 
over  200,000  men,  136;  prepare  to 
cross  the  Sesia,  140 ;  defeated  at 
Palestro,  143,  144  ;  cross  the  Ticino 
by  a  forced  march,  146  ;  are  beaten 
at  Magenta,  149 ;  under  Urban, 
followed  by  Delia  Rocca,  151  ; 
retreat  beyond  the  Mincio,  154; 
recross  the  Mincio,  are  beaten  at 
Solferino,  158,  159,  1 60,  163, 
234  ;  occupy  the  heights  of  Cus- 
toza, 245,  249  ;  occupy  heights  of 
Beretara  in  force,  250,  259  (note) ; 
retreat  after  Sadowa,  261,  262 ; 
retire  from  the  Quadrilateral,  264. 


Azeglio,  D',  Christine,  Marchioness, 
28. 

Emanuel,  Marquis,  121. 

Massimo,  Marquis,  2,  44  ;  pre- 
sident of  the  Council,  108,  109,  no, 
115,  116,  120,  121,  225. 


B 


Baraguay  D'Hii.ijers,  Marshal, 
13s,  141,  142,  147,  149,  150,  158. 

Bava,  E.,  General,  55,  59,  63,  64, 
65 ;  ordering  retreat  of  Cuneo 
brigade,  66,  71,  72,  75,  76,  78,  80, 
81,  82  ;  reluctantly  falls  back  on 
Milan,  84,  85,  87,  88  ;  acutely  feels 
unjust  criticisms,  90 ;  publishes  his 
account  of  campaign  of  1848,  91,  93, 

Benedek,  General  von,  at  S.  Mar- 
tino,  159,  162. 

Bianze,  Caspar  Morozzo,  Marquis  of ; 
new  ideas  hateful  to,  2,  3,  4. 

Bixio,  Nino,  General,  178,  198,  240, 
243,  244,  249,  251  ;  recommended 
by  Delia  Rocca  as  chief  of  the 
sUff,  253. 


Cadorna,    R.,   Colonel,  afterwards 

General,  93,  158,  181,  234. 
Canroljcrt,    Marshal,    134,     135 ;    a 

good  officer,  142,  145,  160,  2»S. 
Carbonari,  the,  12,  14,  15,  16,  27,  29. 
Carignano,   Princess  of.      See   Maria 

Theresa,  Archduchess  of  Austria. 

Prince  of.     See  Charles  Albert. 

Prince    Eugene    of,   viceroy  of 

the   kingdom   of  Sicily,  205,  206, 

207  (note),  210,  212,  223. 
Cattaneo,  Charles,  a  leader  of  '  Young 

luly,'  29. 


293 


294 


INDEX 


Cavalli,  General,  24  ;  as  a  boy,  25. 

Cavour,  Camillo,  Count  of,  10,  13 
(and  note) ;  as  a  boy,  25,  43 ;  a 
newspaper  editor,  49,  50  (note) ; 
becomes  prime  minister,  116; 
makes  a  treaty  with  France  and  Eng- 
land, 117,  119;  arranges  first  loan 
with  Rothschild,  120 ;  success  in 
Paris  of,  124, 125, 127, 128, 129, 132, 
133,  135  ;  arrives  at  headquarters, 
164  ;  loses  his  self-control,  and  is 
insolent  to  the  king,  165  ;  resigna- 
tion of,  166,  169 ;  is  reconciled  to 
the  king,  and  again  becomes  prime 
minister,  172;  dissolves  the  Cham- 
bers and  reopens  the  question  of 
Savoy  and  Nice  with  Napoleon, 
173,  174 ;  attacked  by  Garibaldi, 
175,  178  ;  decides  to  assist  Gari- 
baldi, 179,  189,  190,  206;  letter 
from  to  Delia  Rocca,  207 ;  death 
of,  211. 

Charles  Albert,  Prince  of  Carignano, 
afterwards  King  of  Sardinia,  6,  7, 
8  (and  note,  genealogical  table),  9  j 
marriage  of,  10,  11  ;  scene  at  Court 
ball,  14 ;  Liberals  centre  their  hopes 
on,  15  ;  regarded  as  a  traitor  by  all 
parties,  16 ;  offered  leadership  of 
revolutionary  party,  warns  the  king, 
17;  advocates  granting  concessions, 
18  ;  is  named  regent,  19  ;  signs  the 
Constitution  conditionally,  is  exiled 
by  the  king,  20,  21  ;  joins  the  Due 
d'Angouleme  in  Spain,  distinguishes 
himself  at  the  Trocadero,  23 ;  re- 
called to  Turin,  24,  25,  26 ;  succeeds 
to  the  throne,  is  regarded  as  a 
Carbonaro,  27  ;  character  of,  28 ; 
refuses  to  listen  to  Mazzini,  29,' 
30 ;  threatened  by  Mazzinians  and 
Jesuits,  31,  33,  34,  36,  38,  39,  40, 
41  (note),  42 ;  gives  fetes  at  Rac- 
conigi  to  his  sister  the  Vice-Queen 
of  Lombardy,  43 ;  indecision  of, 
44,  45 ;  letter  from,  46  (note) ; 
grants  reforms,  47  ;  grants  the 
Constitution,  52  ;  promises  aid  to 
Lombardy,  53 ;  enters  Pavia  after 
declaration  of  war,  55,  56,  58,  60 ; 
charges  at  the  head  of  the  carabin- 
eers, 61  ;  attempts  to  take  Verona, 
63  ;  orders  the  retreat,  66,  69,  72  ; 
announces  fall  of  Peschiera,  74  (and 
note),  76 ;  resolves  to  blockade 
Mantua,  78,  79,  80,  82,  85  ;  offers 


to  surrender  Milan,  86 ;  is  besieged 
by  the  mob,  87  ;  leaves  Milan,  88, 
90  ;  crosses  the  Mincio,  94,  95,  96  ; 
abdicates,  99  ;  dies  at  Oporto,  109, 
III,  114,  131,  153,  162. 
Charles  Emanuel  IV.,  i,  5,  6  (and 
note). 

Felix,   Duke   of  Genevese,   9, 

II,  14  (note),  16;  becomes  King 
of  Sardinia  on  the  abdication  of 
his  brother,  19 ;  refuses  to  receive 
Charles  Albert,  20,  21  ;  returns  to 
Turin,  22,  23,  24  ;  invites  General 
Paolucci  from  Russia,  26 ;  death 
of,  27,  53. 

Philip,   Marquis  Delia  Rocca. 

See  Delia  Rocca. 

Chartres,  Duke  of,  146  (and  note). 

Cialdini,  General,  155,  180,  181  ; 
bars  Lamoriciere's  advance  on  An- 
cona,  187,  188,  189,  190,  192,  203, 
204,  234,  235  ;  commands  army  of 
the  Po,  239,  252,  253,  256  ;  put  in 
command  of  150,000  men,  259,  261, 
262,  264,  265,  266,  269  ;  becomes 
chief  of  the  staff  of  the  army,  270, 
271,  272  (letter  and  note),  275. 

Clarendon,  Earl  of,  offers  his  services 
with  Prussia,  215,  216. 

Clotilde,  Princess  of  Savoy,  married 
to  Prince  Jerome  Napoleon,  133 
(note),  172. 

Crispi,  Francesco,  178  (note). 

Custoza,  battle  of  (in  1848),  81,  et  seq.; 
day  of  (in  1866),  242,  et  seq. 

Czarnowsky,  General,  **a  perfect 
monkey,"  91  ;  is  made  commander- 
in-chief,  92  ;  crosses  the  Mincio, 
94 ;  retreats  on  Novara,  95,  96  ; 
incapacity  of,  97,  98,  100. 


D 


Della  Rocca,  Charles  Philip,  Mar- 
quis, 2,  3  (and  note),  4. 

Enrico,     Count    (author 

of  autobiography),  birth  and  family, 
I,  2,  3,  4,  5;  becomes  page  to 
Prince  of  Carignano,  9 ;  one  of 
first  scholars  in  military  college, 
10  ;  stands  on  step  of  carriage  at 
entry  of  Prince  and  Princess  Carig- 
nano, 1 1  ;  scolded  by  the  princess, 
12 ;  begins  studies  at  the  Aca- 
demy,   13  ;  sees   Prince  of  Carig- 


INDEX 


29i 


nano  return  blackened  with  smoke 
at  Court  ball,  14  ;  runs  away  from 
Academy,  21  ;  becomes  a  lieu- 
tenant, 25  ;  enters  the  staff,  26  ; 
is  named  second  equerry  to  King 
Charles  Albert,  28 ;  goes  to  Sar- 
dinia, 31,  32  ;  accompanies  Duke 
of  Savoy  bear-hunting,  33  ;  sent  on 
secret  mission  to  France,  34,  35 ; 
returns  to  Turin,  is  named  equerry 
to  Victor  Emanuel,  Duke  of  Savoy, 
36  ;  enters  palace  and  bedroom  of 
duke  without  hindrance,  38 ;  be- 
lieved to  have  great  influence  over 
the  duke,  42 ;  goes  to  Pdris,  43  ; 
accompanies  the  duke  disguised 
at  night,  51  ;  becomes  colonel  and 
chief  of  the  staff  to  the  duke,  54, 
55,  58 ;  perceives  enemy  about  to 
strike  flank,  60 ;  advises  barring 
Sona  road,  61  ;  climbs  to  top  of 
tower  at  Tana,  64  ;  sent  to  recon- 
noitre, 65  ;  prepares  plan  to  pre- 
vent a  junction  of  RJadetzky  and 
Kugent,  its  reception  by  Charles 
Albert,  69 ;  obtains  proof  that 
members  of  Municipal  Council  of 
Villafranca  are  traitors,  70 ;  is  ill, 
orders  Grenadiers  to  charge,  72 ; 
is  with  duke  when  wounded,  73 ; 
goes  to  tell  king  his  son  is 
wounded,  74 ;  ill,  taken  to  Yolta, 
75  ;  at  battle  of  Custoza,  81, 
82,  83 ;  is  put  in  command  of 
troops  round  Goito,  84 ;  goes 
to  release  King  Charles  Albert 
from  mob  in  Milan,  87,  88  ; 
named  major-general  in  com- 
mand of  Acqui  brigade,  93  ;  begs 
not  to  be  promoted,  94 ;  in  first 
line  of  attack,  95  ;  last  words  of 
Charles  Albert  to,  96 ;  leads  re- 
treat on  Biella,  99  ;  returns  to  re- 
connoitre, 100 ;  becomes  minister 
of  war,  loi  ;  stormy  scene  in  the 
Chambers,  103 ;  loses  brother  in 
Genoese  revolution,  104,  105  ; 
leaves  ministry  and  marries,  1 10  ; 
goes  to  Dresden  and  Prague,  113; 
IS  named  chief  of  the  staff,  114, 
115;  is  sent  on  secret  mission 
to  Dusseldorf,  122,  123 ;  be- 
comes lieutenant-general,  125  ;  sent 
to  Paris  as  aml)assador  extraor- 
dinary, 127  ;  conversations  with 
Napoleon,  128,  129,  13c,  131, 132  ; 


Princess  Mathilde  speaks  to,  132 ; 
returns  to  Turin,  133,  134;  has  to 
think  of  whole  allied  army,  139, 
141,  142 ;  has  altercation  with 
Froissart,  143  ;  interview  with 
Napoleon,  150;  follows  Urban,  is 
stopped  by  French  officers,  151,152; 
celebrates  his  fifty-second  birthday, 
155 ;  accompanies  Napoleon  and 
Victor  Emanuel,  156 ;  involun- 
tarily hears  a  letter  from  the  em- 
press read  aloud,  157  ;  sends 
to  order  La  Marmora  to  assume 
command  of  the  two  corps  Durando 
and  Fanti,  159 ;  telejjraphs  victory 
to  Cavour,  160,  161  ;  signs  a 
truce  at  Villafranca,  164  ;  Cavour 
comes  to  room  of^  165,  166, 
168 ;  goes  to  see  Marshal  Vail- 
lant,  169,  170  ;  goes  to  Nice, 
174;  made  commander  of  5th 
Army  Corps,  175  ;  is. sent  to  com- 
pliment the  ex-Duchess  of  Lucca, 
176,  177,  179,  180 ;  concentrates 
his  corps  on  Roman  frontier,  181  ; 
enters  Cittadi  Castello,  182;  besieges 
Perugia,  183,  184,  185,  186,  187; 
besieges  Ancona,  188,  189,  190; 
saves  a  Neapolitan  general  from  the 
mob  at  Sulmona,  191,  192  ;  meets 
Bishop  of  Alife,  193 ;  meets  Gari- 
baldi at  Capua,  194 ;  besieges 
Capua,  195,  196 ;  goes  to  Caserta 
to  see  Garibaldi,  197  ;  signs  the 
capitulation  of  Capua,  198  ;  sent  to 
Naples  to  assume  command,  199, 
200,  201 ,  202  ;  refiises  to  supplant 
Cialdini,  203,  204 ;  accepts  mili- 
tary command  of  the  Two  Sicilies, 
205,  206 ;  Cavour's  letter  to,  207  ; 
disgusted  with  want  of  morality 
among  Neapolitans,  209,  210,  211  ; 
sent  as  ambassador  extraordinary 
to  Berlin,  212,  213,  214,  215, 
216  ;  command  to  suppress  riots  in 
Turin,  220,  221;  combats  opinion  of 
the  ministers,  222 ;  ordered  by 
king  to  invite  ministers  to  resign, 
and  to  take  over  military  powers, 
223,  224,  225,  226  ;  resigns  post 
of  first  aide-de-camp,  229,  230 ; 
named  commander  of  the  3d  corps, 
234,  235 ;  opinion  of  newspaper 
correspondents,  and  description 
of  by  correspondent  of  the  DibcUs, 
236  (note),  crosses  the  Mincio,  239, 


296 


INDEX 


240,  241,  242,  243,  establishes  his 
headquarters  at  Villafranca,  246 ; 
searches  in  vain  for  commander- 
in-chief,  247  ;  is  ordered  to  hold 
Villafranca,  248,  249,  250  ;  receives 
orders  to  retreat  across  the  Mincio, 
251  ;  is  asked  by  king  to  take  La 
Marmora's  position  as  chief  of  the 
staff,  he  refiises,  252  ;  tries  to  per- 
suade La  Marmora  to  remain,  253  ; 
disagrees  with  La  Marmora,  257, 
258  ;  is  visited  by  king  at  Piadena, 
259 ;  meets  Prince  Jerome  Na- 
poleon, 265  ;  receives  orders  to  go 
to  Vicenza,  266  ;  is  consulted  by 
king,  267,  268,  269, ;  visits  Cialdini 
at  Stra,  272,  273  ;  accompanies  king 
to  Venice,  274 ;  is  called  to  the 
deathbed  of  his  brother  at  Florence, 
281  ;  refuses  command  of  troops  in 
southern  provinces,  282  ;  end  of 
military  career  of,  283 ;  death  of, 
285  ;  account  of  by  his  wife,  286, 
287,  288,  289,  290,  291. 


Fanti,  General,  105,  142,  144,  146, 
148,  149  ;  named  minister  of  war, 
173  ;  army  admirably  organised  by, 
180,  181  ;  at  siege  of  Perugia,  185, 
186,  187,  188,  189,  190,  192,  198, 
201,  204,  205,  206  ;  death  of,  231. 

Farini,  Charles  Louis,  171  ;  home 
minister,  200,  201  ;  named  vice- 
roy of  kingdom  of  Naples,  202,  217. 

Ferdinand  III.,  Grand  Duke  of  Tus- 
cany, 10. 

IL,  King  of  Naples,  177. 

Francis  II. ,  King  of  Naples,  50,  59, 
177.  179,  197,  203. 

Francis  Joseph,  Emperor  of  Austria, 
135*  147  f  commands  army  in 
person  at  Solferino,  158,  160,  161, 
163;  accepts  armistice,  1 64,  239,263. 

Franco-Anglo  alliance  and  Crimean 
war,  119. 

Franzini,  General,  53,  54,  56,  59,  63, 
76. 

Froissart,  General,  135,  143,  162. 


Gallenga,  a  leader  of  Young  Italy,' 
29. 


Garibaldi,  Guiseppe,  31  ;  volunteers 
placed  under  command  of,  134, 
148  ;  beats  the  Austrians  at  Tre 
Ponti,  155  ;  upbraids  Cavour  in  the 
Chambers,  175,  191  ;  salutes  Victor 
Emanuel  for  the  first  time  as  King 
of  Italy,  193 ;  commands  the 
Southern  Army  at  Capua,  194  ; 
hands  over  command  to  Delia 
Rocca,  195 ;  (ill  at  Caserta,  197, 
198 ;  Dictator  of  Naples,  199 ; 
drives  through  Naples  with  Victor 
Emanuel,  200  ;  offers  to  remain  as 
Viceroy  at  Naples,  201  ;  offer  of, 
refused,  he  leaves  for  Caprera,  202, 
269 ;  preaches  rebellion  against  the 
government,  277  ;  secretly  protected 
by  Rattazzi,  escapes  from  Caprera, 
278  ;  arrest  of,  279. 

Genevese,  Duke  of.  See  Charles 
Felix  of  Savoy. 

Duchesa  of.  See  Maria  Chris- 
tine of  Naples. 

Genoa,  Duke  of,  37  ;  commands  the 
artillery,  56,  58,  79 ;  at  Custoza, 
80,  81,  84;  in  Milan,  87,  96; 
has  three  horses  killed  under  him, 
97,  98;  marriage  of,  113;  des- 
tined to  command  expedition  to 
the  Crimea,  117  ;  death  of,  118. 

Gioberti,  V.,  exiled,  30;  becomes 
prime  minister,  91 ;  ministry  of 
falls,  92. 

Giulay,  Field  Marshal,  Count,  136  ; 
incapacity  of,  137,  139,  140; 
masses  his  forces  at  Magenta,  147, 
155- 


H 

Hudson,  Sir  James,  115. 


Lamartine,  A.  de,  52. 

Lamoriciere,  General,  180,  187  ;  196 
(note). 

La  Marmora,  Alexander,  Colonel,  51, 
57,  88  ;  orders  retreat,  98. 

Alphonse,   General,    24 ;   as  a 

boy,  25 ;  poses  as  a  professor,  37, 
58 ;  not  liked  by  Victor  Emanuel, 
62  (and  note),  84 ;  minister  for 
war  and  marine,  ill,  114;    com- 


OF   T^V 


^^IVERSITY 


INDEX 


297 


mands  expedition  to  Crimea,  117, 
134.  135.  >59.  166,  171,  172,  181, 
213  ;  becomes  prime  minister,  223, 
229,  230,  231,  232,  234,  238, 
239,  240 ;  rides  out  alone,  finds 
himself  on  the  field  of  battle,  246 ; 
is  searched  for  in  vain,  247  ;  orders 
Delia  Rocca  to  hold  Villafranca, 
248,  249,  250,  251  ;  insists  on  re- 
signing his  post  of  chief  of  the  staff, 
252,  253,  254  (and  note),  257,  258  ; 
disastrous  telegrams  sent  by,  259 
(note),  260, 261, 262, 263  ;  divisional 
chief  of  the  staff,  264  ;  compelled 
to  ask  for  an  armistice,  266,  267 ; 
sacrifices  his  popularity  to  save 
Italy,  268,  269,  271  ;  retires  from 
public  life,  272  ;  death  of,  287. 

La  Tour,  Baron,  19,  20,  21  ;  Governor 
of  Turin  in  '48,  51. 

Leo  XIIL  (Cardinal  Pecci),  187. 

Leopold  n.  of  Tuscany  grants  Con- 
stitution, 50. 


M 


MacMahon,  General,  135,  141,  148  ; 
gains  battle  of  Magenta,  is  made 
Marshal  of  France  and  Duke  of 
Magenta,  149 ;  president  of  the 
French  Republic,  288. 

Magenta,  battle  of,  148,  et  seq. 

Mahomet  Ali,  Viceroy  of  Egypt,  34. 

Margaret,  Princess  of  Savoy,  after- 
wards Queen  of  Italy,  marriage  of, 
279  ;  gives  birth  to  Prince  of  Naples, 
280,  282,  288,  291,  292. 

Maria  Adelaide  of  Austria,  Duchess 
of  Savoy  (afterwards  Queen  of 
Sardinia),  marries  Victor  Emanuel, 
Duke  of  Savoy  (afterwards  Victor 
Emanuel  II.  )>  38  ;  character  of,  40, 
41,  42,  in,  113,  114;  dies,  118, 

"9- 

Christine   of   Naples,   Duchess 

of  Genevese  (afterwards  Queen  of 
Sardinia),  8  (and  note) ;  named 
regent,  27. 

Maria  Clotilde  of  France,  wife  of 
Charles  Emanuel  IV.,  5. 

Elizabeth  of  Savoy,  Arch- 
duchess of  Austria  and  Vice-Queen 
of  Lombardy,  36,  43. 

of    Saxony,    marries    the 

Duke  of  Genoa,  113. 


Maria  Theresa  of  Austria,  Princess  of 
Carignano  (afterwards  Queen  of 
Sardinia),  marries  Charles  Albert, 
Prince  of  Carignano  (afterwards 
King  of  Sardinia),  10 ;  gives  birth 
to  a  son,  12  ;  dies,  118. 

d'Este,  Duchess  of  Aosta 

(afterwards  Queen  of  Sardinia), 
enters  Turin,  7 ;  character  of, 
9 ;  farewell  words  of,  19  (and 
note). 

of  Savoy,  7. 

Pia  of  Savoy,  afterwards  Queen 

of  Portugal,  birth  of,  48. 

Mathilde,  Princess,  132. 

Mazzini,  G.,  writes  to  Charles  Albert, 
29,  31,  126,  128,  130,  201,  202; 
tries  to  stir  up  discontent  in  the 
army,  206. 

Menabrea,  General,  134,  135,  218; 
becomes  prime  minister,  278,  279 ; 
forces  priest  to  give  absolution  to 
the  king,  280;  the  fall  of,  281. 

Mentana,  battle  of,  279. 

Minghetti,  Marco,  prime  minister, 
217,  221  ;  proposes  to  declare  mar- 
tial law  in  Turin,  222  ;  fall  of,  223. 

Mirafiore,  Countess  of  (la  bella 
Rosina),  as  a  girl,  41  (note) ;  dresses 
theatrically,  190,  280. 


N 


Napoleon  I.,  Emperor,  i,  153,  154. 

Louis,       Prince,       afterwards 

Emperor  Napoleon  III.,  115,  120  ; 
tries  to  persuade  Victor  Emanuel 
to  marry  again,  122 ;  attempted 
assassination  of  by  Orsini,  127, 
128 ;  vehemently  accuses  Sardinian 
government,  128,  129 ;  is  mollified 
by  Victor  Emanuel's  letter,  130, 
131 ;  promises  aid  against  Austria, 
132,  133  ;  disembarks  at  Genoa, 
139,  141  ;  meets  Duke  of  Chartres, 
145,  147  ;  creates  MacMahon  Duke 
of  Magenta,  149,  150,  154;  reads 
Empress  Eugenie's  letter  to  Victor 
Emanuel,  156,  157  ;  at  Solferino, 
158,  159,  162,  163,  165,  166  ;  enters 
Milan,  167  ;  leaves  for  France,  168, 
169 ;  objects  to  annexation  of 
Tuscany  by  Victor  Emanuel,  171  ; 
covets  Savoy  and  Nice,  173 ; 
agrees    to    annexations,    174,   179, 


298 


INDEX 


i8o  ;  has  no  faith  in  Cavour's  suc- 
cessors, 217,  224,  237,  263,  267, 
272  (note),  273. 

Napoleon,  Jerome,  Prince,  164  ;  dis- 
cussion with  Cavour,  165,  166,  167  ; 
sent  by  the  emperor  to  persuade 
Victor  Emanuel  to  accede  to  armis- 
tice, 265. 

Niel,  Marshal,  136,  141,  147,  150, 160. 

Novara,  retreat  on,  95,  et  seq. 

Nugent,  General,  69,  70,  77. 


Orsini,  Felice,  a  leader  of  'Young 
Italy,'  29  ;  attempts  to  assassinate 
the  Emperor  Napoleon  III.,  127, 
128;  letter  to  the  emperor,  132, 
133- 


Paolucci,  General,  invited  to  re- 
constitute Piedmontese  army,  26  ; 
made  governor  of  Genoa,  27. 

Palestro,  battle  of,  143,  et  seq. 

Pastrengo,  battle  of,  60,  et  seq. 

Peschiera,  fortress  of,  fall  of,  74. 

Pius  IX.,  Pope,  grants  amnesty  to 
political  prisoners,  45,  48,  59,  275. 


R 


Radetzky,  Marshal,  39,  64,  67,  68, 
69,  70  ;  marches  on  Vicenza,  ^6 ; 
returns  to  Verona,  77,  78,  79,  83  ; 
invests  Milan,  Charles  Albert 
capitulates,  86,  89^  (note),  93, 
94,  95,  97 ;  drives  Italian  army 
back  on  Novara,  98 ;  lays  down 
hard  conditions,  99,  106 ;  meets 
King  Victor  Emanuel  at  Vignale, 
107. 

Ramorino,  General,  31  ;  disobeys 
orders,  94 ;  a  traitor,  105 ;  con- 
demned and  shot,  106. 

Rattazzi,  Urban,  217,  275,  277,  278. 

Ricasoli  Bettino,  Marquis,  215  (and 
notes),  217;  speech  in  favour  of 
concord,  225,  265,  266,  275. 

Ruffini,  L.,  a  leader  of  'Young 
Italy,'  29. 


San  Martino,  battle  of,  160,  et  seq. 
Schmidt,     General,     commander     of 

Papal  troops  in  Perugia,    83,    1 84, 

185  ;  made  prisoner,  186. 
Solferino,  battle  of,  159. 


Thiers,   Adolphe    M.,  i ;    takes    a 

daily  riding  lesson,  43. 
Trochu,  General,  141. 
Tiirr,  General,  199,  200. 


U 


Urban,  General,  148,  151. 
Usedom,  Count,  Prussian  minister  at 
Florence,  238. 


Vaillant,  Marshal,  139,  163,  164; 
at  Milan,  169,  170. 

Venetia  annexed  to  Italy,  273. 

Victoria,  Queen,  120,  122,  288. 

Victor  Amadeus  II.,  5  (note). 

III.,  6  (note). 

Emanuel  I.,  4,  5,  7  (and  note),  8, 

9,  10,  14  (note),  15,  17,  18 ;  abdi- 
cates and  leaves  for  Nice,  19 ; 
urged  to  resume  the  crown  but 
refuses,  22 ;  death  of,  24,  26,  27, 

113- 
Duke  of  Savoy  (after- 
wards Victor  Emanuel  II.),  6 ; 
birth  of,  12,  33,  36 ;  marriage 
of,  40,  41,  42 ;  goes  among  the 
crowd  disguised,  50,  51  ;  com- 
mands a  division,  54,  55,  56,  57, 
60 ;  dislikes  La  Marmora,  62,  69, 
70,  71,  72 ;  is  wounded,  73,  78, 
79  ;  storms  Monte  Torre,  80 ;  at 
Custoza,  81-87,  90,  94.  95. 
96 ;  becomes  king,  99,  100 ;  un- 
affected by  serious  state  of  affairs, 
10 1 ;  first  ministry  of,  102,  106  ; 
meets  Radetzky,  107,  108,  109,  ill, 
114,  115;  summons  Cavour  to 
form  a  ministry,  116  ;  goes  to  Paris 
and     London,      120,     121,     122, 


INDEX 


299 


127 ;  letter  of  read  to  Napoleon, 
130, 131,  132,  133  ;  saying  of,  about 
Giulay,  137 ;  receives  Don  Neri 
Corsini,  138,  140,  141  ;  cheered  by 
the  French  soldiers,  142 ;  charges 
with  the  Zouaves,  144,  145  ;  pre- 
sented with  the  stripes  of  a  corporal 
by  the  Zouaves,  146 ;  receives 
Milanese  deputation,  150;  accepts 
sovereignty  of  Lombard y,  151  ;  at 
Milan,  154;  enters  Brescia,  155; 
rides  out  with  Napoleon,  156,  157  ; 
at  S.  Martino,  159,  160,  l6l,  162, 
163  ;  stormy  interview  with  Cavour, 
165  ;  refuses  to  accede  to  Cavour's 
wish,  signs  treaty  of  Villafranca, 
166 :  enthusiastically  received  at 
Milan,  167,  169,  170,  171  ;  is  re- 
conciled to  Cavour  and  appoints  him 
prime  minister,  172,  173,  174  ;  gains 
seven  or  eight  millions  of  subjects 
by  the  loss  of  two  or  three  millions, 
175  ;  visits  the  new  provinces,  176, 
178 ;  told  to  be  quick  by  Napoleon, 
180;  enters  Ancona,  189,  190; 
marches  towards  the  Garigliano, 
192 ;  beats  the  Bourbon  troops, 
193 ;  letter  of  to  Delia  Rocca, 
195  (note),  196;  averse  to  dis- 
banding Garitaldians,  198 ;  entry 
into  Naples.  200;  interview  of  with 
Garibaldi,    201,    203;    leaves    for 


Turin,  205  ;  acknowledged  by  Eng- 
land as  icing  of  Italy,  210,  212  ; 
received  with  enthusiasm  by  French 
sailors  at  Naples,  217,  218;  dis- 
misses Minghetti,  223,  224  ;  leaves 
Turin  for  new  capital,  Florence, 
229,  230,  231,  234 ;  declares  war 
on  Austria,  239 ;  at  Villafranca, 
248,  249 ;  wishes  Delia  Rocca  to 
assume  La  Marmora's  position,  252, 
253,  254  (note) ;  goes  to  Delia 
Rocca  at  Piadena,  259,  260 ;  Na- 
poleon's unexpected  proposal  to, 
263 ,  265  ;  sends  for  Delia  Rocca, 
267,  268,  270;  ill  at  Padua,  271  ; 
receives  Venetian  deputation,  273  ; 
enters  Venice,  274  ;  makes  Rattazzi 
prime  minister,  275 ;  protests 
against  Garibaldi's  action,  278; 
alarming  illness  of,  280 ;  makes 
Lanza  prime  minister,  281  ;  goes 
to  Rome,  283 ;  death  of,  287  ; 
Queen  Victoria  speaks  about,  288. 
Visconti-Venosta,  Marquis,  218,  265, 
266. 


W 

William  I.,  King  of  Prussia,  coro- 
nation of,  2X2,  213,  214,  215,  216, 
238. 


CoUtOH  *•  Cm.  Limited  Printert  Edinburgh. 


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